/lit/ - Literature

I've never cried while reading a book. I can't remember the last time a plot made me feel sad. The closest I get is poetry making me 'melancholic' or reflective.

Why are there 2 versions of that picture? Mine is (slightly) better.

>>2715717
http://fav.me/dldktt

The only time I've cried when reading a book was when I read Johan Harstad's Ambulanse (Ambulance). Probably not released in English, but I can try to translate a paragraph from one of his short stories for you.

"... I position myself on the diving board and the teacher says it's okay, the rest of you can go to the locker room and then I plummet, but I'm not coming down, and down at the bottom is the doll Sarah almost has kissed, laid her lips on, and I wish I could do the same, and I want to kiss Sarah on her own lips, not just the plastic ones, and I will say that I'm there all the time, although I don't get to dive I can be there for her, and I know you are sick, I know, but it's okay, because you are a beautiful person and I'll be there all the way for you and I really like the drawings you've made, I have seen them in your draft books and I like your voice, Sarah, and they should write songs about you and the teacher calls out from the poolside that I have to try again ... "

The whole story is written like this, punctuation and everything is intact, so you can imagine it gets pretty intense at the end.

>>2715904
Thanks for talking the time to translate that. (From Norwegian, I assume)

From what I gather, the style of writing (Be it the pace, wording) causes a buildup? Some hasty research shows that some themes occurring in the stories are death, love, grief/depression, so they must all play a role too. Either way, good reply.

Fix'd, praise God.

This wasn't a great book, but it was definitely the sheer plausibility of everything in it that made me cry at the ending.

>>2715944
Yeah, the pace and punctuation of the writing and the peaking intensity causes a build-up (and then comes a dissapointing release). But what really tears me up, is how, suddenly, there's this dazzling sincerity «because you are a beautiful person» just hitting you in the face. It's like the text just spontaneously decides to shift gear and race to the finish after all.

This is also a pretty accurate picture of how my inner dialogue would sound if I was in the main character's shoes myself. The stream of consciousness style of writing certainly has a function here.

Recommended reading by me if ever released in English. :)

>>2715962
this right here

>>2715974
Henry was a coward and Barkely was a whore.
I have hated every character in every Hemingway novel I have ever read.
And I still love Hemingway.

More central than old age and a growing attachment I think is the severity of the emotion displayed. For example, we are given no context in Bradbury's Kaleidoscope, yet the intensity of the emotion is so great and so all encompassing that one cannot help but be touched by the same panic and overwhelming fear detailed. Obviously, a well paced buildup and attachment to the characters helps, but the strength of the emotion is the key aspect in my opinion.
http://www.scaryforkids.com/kaleidoscope-by-ray-bradbury/

>>2716913
>Henry was a coward and Barkely was a whore.
Explain.

>>2716923
I think the best demonstration of this is when they're in that hotel after they reunite and fuck. Barkely alludes to the fact that she's being used as a whore, and Henry agrees half-heartedly. They're just using each other for sex, and the pregnancy is an accident. Even after they go to Switzerland the relationship is fake. I suppose "coward" isn't a good word; "bitch" is probably better. They're both just all-around terrible people.

>>2716932
>Everyone in his story is a terrible cardboard cutout of their role
>Somehow I still want to read more Hemingway because they make me think about interesting things

>>2716932
>using each other for sex
I think that's a bit extreme. Their relationship is of a questionable status up until that point, but was slowly solidifying. I saw that scene as a consecration of their relationship, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what you saw. Fuck me if I know how that works.

>>2716939
Henry had an interesting sentiment or two, and I really enjoyed the wartime scenes, but the relationship he had with Barkely just seemed incredibly toxic to me. It only served to make me dislike the characters. Mabye I was just carrying over all the hate for everyone I had at the time from reading The Sun Also Rises. Fucking hell I still get mad thinking about Bret goddamned Ashley, Barnes, and that little faggot Cohn.

>>2716956
I never really saw a solidification in terms of their relationship. They always seemed kind of distant from one another.

>>2715904

I liked this little bit so I looked it up and managed to find the whole story translated, along with two others from the same book:

http://wordswithoutborders.org/article/chlorine