Ever since I read your OP I've been wracking my brain to come up with anything I've read that I would consider "uplifting". Edifying, thought-provoking, yes. But "uplifting" - I don't know. I'm not into "uplifting", I guess.'
I'm good with dark and tragic. My favorite genre is mystery/crime fiction (although I abhor and avoid overly gruesome and bloody examples of the genre). But while these are intellectually stimulating and diverting, I can't imagine categorizing them as "uplifting". It's satisfying to read through a police procedural and observe the step-by-step process of solving a crime, but it's not what I would call uplifting.
The non-mystery/crime fiction books I've been into lately have been largely tragic. They are emotionally moving studies on the human condition which have often left me in tears. But I cannot say that have left me feeling uplifted, they simply leave me sad and thoughtful.
The most memorable books I've read in recent months/years:
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indriðason
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Safe from the Sea by Peter Geye
The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (a re-read, many years after the first read)
At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter Mattheiessen (another re-read)
None of these books are memorable to me for being uplifting, they are memorable to me for the empathy I have felt for the protagonists as they face suffering and sorrow and loss.
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