Oppressively sad, but beautifully written.
585032
Sol Nazerman runs a pawn shop in a low-income neighborhood. His business is mostly legitimate--sure, he pays money for the random trinkets brought in by his destitute neighbors--but the business isn't profitable. And he's only able to stay afloat through the patronage of a local criminal who is using Sol's business as a vessel to launder his money.

Sol lives an isolated and sad existence. As the story advances, we see why. Sol is a Holocaust survivor--the only one of his nuclear family to make it. His wife and two children were all not only killed, but also suffered horribly beforehand. (His flashbacks about his wife were awful, nearly unbearable to read.) While many see the numbers etched into Sol's forearm, few seem to make the connection that he is a survivor. Or maybe they just don't care.

This book reads about as drearily as the plot sounds. At first, I didn't know if I was going to make it through. I've heard a bunch of people say this book reminds them of Dostoevsky's works, but I have to disagree. At least Dostoevsky injected some mania in with his depression; The Pawnbroker, on the other hand, is straight melancholy, through and through.

However, when I made it past the first 50+ pages, when I started knowing more about Sol's backstory and started seeing his more significant relationships unfold, I found myself hooked. I was absolutely enthralled and invested. And though I really don't want to sound cliche here, the flashbacks to his experiences as a prisoner broke my heart. I'm not going to lie:  I cried...a lot. I have to give Wallant credit for creating a deep, thoughtful, multidimensional story and cast of characters. I don't think that I ever really liked anyone in this book, but I definitely felt for all of them.

Ultimately, The Pawnbroker is not a book to read if you want to feel warm fuzzies. It's deeply--just OPPRESSIVELY--sad. But it is also thought-provoking and honest. (And I would add that it ended on a surprisingly optimistic note; I actually wasn't expecting that.) Before reading this book, I had no idea that Edward Lewis Wallant was a Jewish-American author lumped in with the likes of Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, or Bernard Malamud. But after reading this book, I can definitely see that his talent more than qualifies him for the company of those talented authors. This was a heavy read, but also a very, very good one.
3732825
Then you need to read this book.  It is Simone de Beauvoir's first-person account of the last ten years of Sartre's life, and it is heartbreaking to read in several places.  Her descriptions in particular of his final few days are wrenching, and I did actually cry as she described Sartre's death.  The prose is characteristic of de Beauvoir: deeply and intimately detailed, meticulous, and dense in some places.  But the reading is ultimately rewarding as it gives the reader an even more thorough understanding of the devoted side of de Beauvoir--and the very human and mortal side of the great philosopher Sartre.
2698393
This was a poignant tale. The very first page is heart-wrenching. I don't see how young people being forced to read this book for school could ever appreciate the adult themes presented in this book. This book requires a certain level of maturity to understand the dynamics of a child who is caught between two adults who have so many problems (especially the problem of not knowing how to parent with love). This is a very frustrating book to read; the parental behavior (one might call it abuse) was so difficult to read about. If the ending wasn't totally satisfying to me (I wanted to see Melody truly confess to being an awful mother, or at least rot in hell), I found this to be a very moving, satisfying book to read.
2907529
Beautiful and heartbreaking, as the horror of separation slowly makes itself known to the characters and the reader. Russian Olive to Red King is the latest joint work by Kathryn Immonen and Stuart Immonen (Moving Pictures).

Its billed as a romance, but as the artists post, thats misleading. Olive is leaving on a work trip, and Red, left behind, has his own work to do. However, on a research trip in a small plan into the Russian wilderness, theres an accident.

One cant help but read into the edges, as someone nags Red for an overdue project, the life of the artist. Gorgeous setting shots punctuate each chapter, getting more and more cold and remote as events continue. Its beautifully illustrated, which makes the harsh story all the more powerful, particularly with the contrast with the warm, often orange coloring. Its a disturbing book, one that, like all their books together, requires significant involvement from the reader.

Due to the pacing of the story, theres an overall air of inevitability about many of the events. Thats whats so horrific  knowing that something terrible is going to happen and being unable to do anything but try to figure out a way to cope with it. Visually, Olive is dropping bits and pieces of her life behind her as she wanders the wilderness.

The second half (well, last third) of the book is Reds essay about death and absence, accompanied by a series of images that reveal themselves as a metaphor at the end.  (Review originally posted at ComicsWorthReading.com.)
4501490
In a beautifully written tale, two defective souls find one another.  That they can't shed what hurts makes this story both real and, at times, heartbreaking.  The main characters are shrouded in childhood tragedy -- most likely, they feel it in each other and are pulled together.  But like survivors who don't get help, they are just two damaged to even find true solace in each other.  It's sad, but it's a profound commentary on how flawed some of us become -- functioning, but not living, coping, but not understanding.  The book is powerful and the writing sings -- like a ballad, it caresses your ears as you read.
1343396
This is beautifully written but I had to put it down because it is so depressing. I'll return to it after some lighter reading, e.g. Grisham/Connelly.
2722279
For the author's beautiful and articulate writing, I give 5 stars, but for story, I cannot give but 3. I would love to read another Richard Yates novel, however if they are downers like this - which I am pretty sure that they are - then I don't know if I want to. His writing is meticulous and perfectly descriptive, but the story is just so sad. It truly makes you appreciate the life that you have, that's for sure, and grateful that you aren't living the life of the characters.
3998802
A sad, thought provoking, profound and compelling portrait of a family whose lives are colored by a mixed race marriage and unfulfilled dreams.  The events of the story are told through the perceptions of the parents and children living in small town America during the mid 1950s and 60s.  The writing is hauntingly beautiful and simple, but the story is incredibly disturbing.  This was an emotionally difficult read.
1924976
I did not expect to like this book at all. From descriptions I had read, I expected it would be similar to Post Office by Charles Bukowski, which I hated, because it seemed to glorify and justify addictions. Besides, that one was not even very well written, in my opinion. But then a friend whose literary opinions I trust said Jesus' Son was "beautiful," so I decided to give it a chance.

And it is beautiful. And powerful. And brutally humorous. And about the saddest book I have ever read.

In a series of very short stories, Johnson gives us a look into the hallucinatory world of a heroin and alcohol addict, and, believe me, it is not a nice place to be. The narrator seems (figuratively) to be lost in a terrifying carnival fun house with no idea how to get out, not sure of what is real and what is not any more, and having perhaps even lost memory of the "real" world. The ending story does give some sense of hope, even though the narrator has been perhaps irreparably damaged.

The writing combines grittiness and poetry, with the contrast making each more powerful.

This would not be a book that all would like. It is very intense and not very cheerful. It's good that it is short, because I, for one, could have not have been immersed in that world for too long without extreme discomfort. But it is, indeed, beautiful.
2037152
i was very surprised by how brutal the story was. it was beautifully written, though
1841321
A meandering, ruminative book about a family's experiences with prejudice, tsunamis and Hiroshima.  These are but a few of the painful moments in a very difficult to read novel.  I can read it for only a short while, put it down and the return to it much later.  It is Not a page-turner.  Very slow, sad, tormented and tortuous.  Poetically written.
1431265
So of course it's sad. It's also mysterious, haunting, well written, lovely. I'm seeing the play shortly, can't imagine how a book that is 50% inside the characters' heads can be acted.
4603560
I found this book utterly captivating, but I must warn readers, it is also very sad.  The slow and agonizing decline that Morrie lives with as his illness progresses is described in such loving detail that you feel as if you are suffering along with him.  The inspiring life lessons that the author gains from taking this journey with his friend Morrie are compelling and thought-provoking.  But be ready to feel his pain as well.
3308270
This book is beautifully written.  Hard to out down, yet hard to read because of the heartbreaking subject matter.  I found myself wanting to reach out the characters to comfort them, to make things better for them, and feeling helpless because I couldn't.  It breaks my heart because although it is a work of fiction, there are lost souls like Gwendolyn and Welch in the real world.  Broken souls who are dealt a raw deal through no fault of their own and damaged because of a broken system.  I am an HEA girl when it comes to my reading, yet I loved this book because of how well it was written, and because unfortunately there isn't always a happy ending in real life.  It reminds the reader that everyone is fighting their own battle.  Everyone has a monster inside of them and whether that monster is released or not is determined by how those around them treat them.  Living by love or hate, is a choice that can shape lives.  A choice that can either destroy them or nurture them.  Thank you Mary for this heartbreakingly beautiful book. I can't wait for Welch's story.
2818025
I was deeply enthralled by the story of a young mother lost in the wilderness, fighting to save herself so she could in turn save her daughter. The images of baby Elisabeth treating the whole ordeal as one big adventure were vivid and wonderfully written. I don't want to give too much away, but this book is gut-wrenchingly, bone-grindingly sad. I would have sobbed out loud had I not been at a playground surrounded by strangers. With all respect to the author, I wish I had never read this book which has left me in a funk. I get the central theme of the story, which is the study of an unbreakable bond between mother and daughter, and after some reflection I suppose it had to be this way. Still, my tender, young mother's heart almost couldn't bear it. Yes, it was very, very good, but you'll be needing two boxes of hankies for this one, and perhaps the counsel of some sympathetic friends!
2145189
I liked the way this book is written. The author has a very unique style. It is beautiful actually. However, I almost put the book down after the second half. Although her story is poignant, the book is extremely graphic, gruesome and depressing. The chapters that described her sexual encounters are frank, exciting, and sometimes even magical. The writer's style is amazing. It is just that at some point, you really need to hear something positive and inspiring. Just very little and probably the last couple of chapters start to finally show that something good happened to this woman. I finished it because I was intrigued about what would happen next to her. The chapter of her son's birth is beautiful and uplifting. Finally something positive out of all the terrible things that she went through. I would give a 5 stars for her writing style, but the book is so disturbing I got nightmares from it. The book is good, but you have to be prepared for some morbid grotesque graphic contents.
2320663
This is a sad and difficult book to consume but it is a well-written and meaningful one that I'm ultimately glad I completed.