I’ll take any recommendations but I prefer books without any sort of romance and weirdly enough male protagonists?
Could be I find them more relatable or something.
Crying in H mart might do this. There are male characters but the story mostly revolves around a woman and her dying mother.
Editing to add there is a sub plot with the main character and her bf but imo it isn’t central to the story nor is it overly romantic but I’m open to being corrected here, it’s been a couple years since I read this.
Patient_Cookie7801 on
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu has some male narrators and made me sob in public on an airplane. It does have some romance, but it’s not overpowering and not present in every section.
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller has a male protagonist but has some romance towards the end (mild spoiler?).
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is also a classic, written from a male POV, and completely devoid of romance.
Ok-Newt1208 on
Books don’t often make me cry, but LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness had me absolutely beside myself. Full on snot-crying. It snuck up so quietly, I didn’t even know I was emotionally invested until it had me on the floor. 10/10
Glum-Book-459 on
Prince of tides or Beach music by Conroy. Animal dreams by Kingsolver
BigWallaby3697 on
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (no romance; male protagonist)
Iwstamp on
My little book of recent dates with the opposite sex
cascadingtundra on
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Outsiders by S E Hinton
guilliotine on
Might not be what you’re after but the last chapters of Marley and Me took me weeks to finish because I kept crying too hard.
HereForTheBoos1013 on
The Kite Runner. It just keeps getting worse. I ugly cried.
thenextnow on
•A Heart That Works (Rob Delaney)
•Me Before You (Jojo Moyes)
•Marley & Me (John Grogan)
LuckyShake on
A Little Life fits the bill
Substantial_Peanut41 on
Have you fully grieved the death of a loved one? A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is a good one.
starrfast on
Flowers for Algernon.
If you’re open to reading a graphic novel then I’d also recommend Maus.
Per_Mikkelsen on
Cormac McCarthy’s ***The Road***
Accurate_Ad1686 on
the other side of paradise by Staceyann Chin
azzthom on
Black Beauty. No romance, lots of cruelty, Horse protagonist.
19 Comments
Crying in H mart might do this. There are male characters but the story mostly revolves around a woman and her dying mother.
Editing to add there is a sub plot with the main character and her bf but imo it isn’t central to the story nor is it overly romantic but I’m open to being corrected here, it’s been a couple years since I read this.
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu has some male narrators and made me sob in public on an airplane. It does have some romance, but it’s not overpowering and not present in every section.
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller has a male protagonist but has some romance towards the end (mild spoiler?).
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is also a classic, written from a male POV, and completely devoid of romance.
Books don’t often make me cry, but LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness had me absolutely beside myself. Full on snot-crying. It snuck up so quietly, I didn’t even know I was emotionally invested until it had me on the floor. 10/10
Prince of tides or Beach music by Conroy. Animal dreams by Kingsolver
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (no romance; male protagonist)
My little book of recent dates with the opposite sex
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Outsiders by S E Hinton
Might not be what you’re after but the last chapters of Marley and Me took me weeks to finish because I kept crying too hard.
The Kite Runner. It just keeps getting worse. I ugly cried.
•A Heart That Works (Rob Delaney)
•Me Before You (Jojo Moyes)
•Marley & Me (John Grogan)
A Little Life fits the bill
Have you fully grieved the death of a loved one? A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is a good one.
Flowers for Algernon.
If you’re open to reading a graphic novel then I’d also recommend Maus.
Cormac McCarthy’s ***The Road***
the other side of paradise by Staceyann Chin
Black Beauty. No romance, lots of cruelty, Horse protagonist.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Way Out by B. Fox.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Book Thief
Dystopian- Never Let Me Go