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[NJavster]

Hey,
I know I don't post here much, so I hope it's okay with the mods that I do this, but here goes:

Oh, I'll settle down with some old story
About a boy who's just like me
Thought there was love in everything and everyone
You're so naive!
After a while they always get it
They always reach a sorry end
Still it was worth it as I turned the pages solemnly, and then
With a winning smile, the boy
With naivety succeeds
At the final moment, I cried
I always cry at endings
-Belle and Sebastian, "Get me away from here, I'm dying," If you're feeling sinister

What book/story do you think of when you hear that? Can you please share it with me? Because I heard those lyrics and desperately needed to read a book like that. I have no gender preference for the protagonist (who is described in the lyrics as male).

Please, please, please: if you can help me with this, I will forever be in your debt.

Thank You!
-Nicole

[KharBevNor]

Brave New World

[NJavster]

Brave New World

Really? I've read Brave New World and a bunch of other stuff by Huxley, but it didn't really seem to fit with the lyrics (mostly the ending being kind of tragic). I guess I should have been a bit more specific: like, Mr. Smith goes to Washington in book form (I've never seen the movie, btw, just using it as an example).

Sorry! Thanks so much, KharBevNor, for the help.

[Inlander]

Hmm . . . try the Folded Leaf by William Maxwell.

[KharBevNor]

I was being flippant/silly/taking the piss. It's a book (partly) about a naive boy, with an ending that makes you cry.  

It wasn't a serious suggestion. I guess you probably want a romance novel or a modern, Catcher in the Rye style coming of age novel, both types of books I don't have much time for.

I dunno...some classics maybe? Jane Austen or The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby? The first two books of the Gormenghast trilogy might be appropriate as well.

[NJavster]

Oops! Sorry, KharBevNor. I am not in a very sarcastic mood tonight and missed your joke!

Also: I think the reason those particular lyrics appealed to me was because it wasn't about innocence lost, but naïveté lost. Am I being to vuage?

Inlander, The Folded Leaf sounds like a good book, I will be sure to take it out of the library tomorrow!

[corwinzor]

Read some J.D. Salinger!

[thehoopiestfrood]

There's actually a Belle and Sebastian graphic novel, but I'm not sure if you can only buy it in Glasgow or not.

[edgyswingsetacid]

Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami. Trust me.

[Johnny C]

Try Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. It won the Man Booker Prize!

[ielerol]

I feel like a great deal of young adult literature could fit this. I happen to love young adult fantasy.

favorites: The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper. The first book, Over Sea, Under Stone, not so much, but definitely the others, especially if you consider them in one narrative.

the Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce, definitely. I think of Tamora Pierce books as sort of like fruit snacks. A simple pleasure without a lot of substance. Too much will probably rot your teeth, but they're fat-free and have 100% of your daily vitamin C, so they can't be all bad. Plus I think the naivite theme fits perfectly.

The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner sort of fits. Then again, sort of not, since the thief really doesn't start off naive. Basically The Thief is a really good book. I've managed to lose two copies (should not loan books to dubious "sort-of" friends or to my sister...) and I am probably going to buy a third because I just love re-reading it.

The Charmed Sphere and The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro also fit the pattern. The Quantum Rose is part of an ongoing series, but it's basically standalone. Also it will be shelved with the science fiction, but it's pretty much a romantic fantasy with a little more logic and physics knowledge going into the worldbuilding.

ps I heart that Belle & Sebastian song. I heart the whole album.

[bujiatang]

What about The Bostonians by Hardy, or Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, or Emma though the ending is not very dark.  To me it seems like contemporary fiction has too many happy endings, though Waiting for the Barbarians doesn't.  But that one has a different emphasis.  The Moviegoer has all the characters lifted from Kierkegaard, Walker Percy's alma mater had one of the first programs about the philosopher in the States.  I forget what award it won.

[will: wanton sex god]

Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami. Trust me.

thats the exact one i was going to suggest.

[Meishk]

 I highly recommend The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

It seems to me that it would have most of the qualities that you are looking for, and, beyond that, it is a very well written book. It is short but oh so very sweet. Anyway, good luck with your search.