7 Most Heartbreaking Books of All Time, Ranked

Since the days of Ancient Greece, many works of literature have aspired to take their readers on painful emotional journeys, a symbolic purgation of emotion that Aristotle called catharsis. Despite the thousands of years that have passed since then, the idea has stayed firmly planted in our cultural consciousness, and there’s no denying the fact that we all enjoy a powerful, heartbreaking read every once in a while. Over the years, there have been plenty of books that fit the bill, including both those drawn on personal experiences and stories of fiction that nonetheless evoke the same emotion.