Books on longing/ unrequited love

damselnat

Hello literature lovers of the boards! It's been a while....but I was wondering if you would be so good as to recommend me novels that deal with longing/ unrequited love (though it could be requited eventually😊). I'm thinking along the lines of Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence, though it doesn't have to be historical. It's a preference if this is the main subject of the book, though if it's a strong sideline/subplot I'll take that too.

Thanks in advance

Swiper the fox

Not quite unrequited love I suppose but I get the feeling that you would love On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.

MagicMarker

Maybe not quite what you're looking for, but Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami springs to mind.

padraig_f

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

Aenaes

The Great Gatsby maybe?

marienbad

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks unrequited love all over .

cailinoBAC

I capture the castle by Dodie Smith

Neleven

Wuthering Heights? It's unrequited when it matters.

Mr.Nice Guy

If you're interested in stories with an unrequited love theme that have an Irish setting, then you might like 'The Collected Stories' by John McGahern. This book features all of McGahern's short story fiction and many of the stories deal with people who fall in love but can't be together for various reasons. I'd recommend it.

sadie06

I came across this when searching for discussion of Edith Wharton, but on topic, I very much recommend her novella Ethan Frome.

heathledgerlove

marienbad wrote: »

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks unrequited love all over .

Agree totally here; the love-aspect of the novel caused much more pain and suffering than the war.

Great Expectations of course; Old Estella and Pip.

Adrian Mole spent his whole life idolizing Pandora!

Not sure if it's straight-up romantic love you have in mind, but Lolita I would say is another. Humbert Humbert ached for her even when she was near; she remained stubbornly distant. ( As well she might! )