I couldn't get through Ove. I read My Grandmother Said to Tell You She's Sorry because my bestie loves it so much and got it for me and I promised her that I would. It's fine. I won't be reading any other Bachman books.
Ugh. Same. I can’t get into her work. I’m going to try the fiction again at some point, but her essays and nonfiction work (e.g., the Genesis book) really turn me off.
Oh this is a fun one to think about. A Gentleman in Moscow is on my list too. It felt like there was something off about the fairy tale-esque telling of Count Rostov's gilded cage situation while millions of other people were suffering unspeakable horrors at the time. I didn't feel much sympathy for him.
Also: My Name is Lucy Barton, The Goldfinch, All the Light We Cannot See
And I just read John William's Stoner, which I've seen described as a 'perfect novel' multiple times, and while it was thought-provoking, I didn't find it as masterful as it was purported to be.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who abandoned The Goldfinch. I gave it multiple chances, there was even one stretch that I was beginning to enjoy but that stretch was surrounded by what, to me, was bad prose, playing for time plot-wise, and implausible psychology.
I really want to love Donna Tartt but I never understand when people praise the beauty of her writing. So much of The Goldfinch was just tedious to me.
Stoner really pissed me off. The title character is just a complete jerk. We're supposed to sympathize with him while he cheats on his wife? No thanks. I'm really over books that valorize assholes.
Crime and Punishment is one of favorite books. I have read it a number of times over the years. However a few years ago, I picked up a different translation and realized how critical the translator's role is. I could hardly make it through a quarter of the book before tossing it. Before writing it off, try a different translation.
After that experience, when multiple translations exist, I try to first assess the translations before selecting one. It makes that much difference, at least for me.
The Oliver Ready translation was the one I strongly disliked. If you are inclined to give it another try, I would recommend the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation.
I think you are on to something! Pevear &B Volokhonsky's translation made me a believer in War and Peace (vastly superior to the other two I read). I'm going to find their version of C & P and give it a final go.
Also, in case you are curious, YouTuber Cams Campbell Reads does a decent job comparing various translations. He has a comparison spreadsheet in the description: https://youtu.be/xdS2HWpMykg?si=W_2mov8WmosUECOh
Infinite Jest was infinitely boring to me. I was maybe 22 when I tried to read it, and I just couldn’t. Kept the book for a while then gave up and got rid of it. It was taking too much precious shelf space. Some people I admire really love this book and say incredible things about it. Perhaps I should try again but there are so many other long books that I think are much better.
I always enjoyed D F Wallace’s essays, like “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again”, so I persisted with Infinite Jest. I remember the experience, and kept trying to draw some thread from it that would reward the effort. Sort of an Everest climb without anything left but frostbite: I can’t imagine recommending it to a friend.
I read it, but it left me flat. I couldn't get into her emotional drama. I didn't even keep the book. But I did love her father - he remains a memorable character.
Yes! Exactly. I persisted to the end, and though I liked the intrigue and drama, the core family itself frustrated the heck out of me. I read because of Simon, basically. I loved his character and virtue as a man. And yet you see him wrestle with these complex feeling regarding Erland. Gah. I hate Erland.
Both Simon and Lavrans were good, and remember that Simon was picked by the good father. He recognized who among the young men could have provided a good, stable life for young Kristin. This is such a cautionary tale.
I almost didn't finish it because I could not get out of the flood of tears - finally finished it and the two following....liked them, didn't love them
James by P. Everett. The build-up was such that I expected to relish it but halfway through I quit bc my eyes just couldn't roll anymore. How it gets acclaim is a complete mystery. Is it bc I teach literature and it is pop fiction? Not necessarily a Huck Finn lover, so that's not it...glad others like it, but my borrowed copy was hucked across the room.
I did appreciate it, but I had a few bones to pick with it. I actually found one feature so irritating I ended up not reviewing it. I just didn’t want to write about it.
I can’t stand Wuthering Heights but Jane Eyre is one of my favorites! They are completely different! Though, I was listening to a podcast recently that suggested Wuthering Heights should be read as a warning against unhealthy love not as a romance and now I kind of want to try it again (though probably won’t). It should be read the way Romeo and Juliet should be performed. It’s a warning, not “the greatest love story of all time” as some people like to refer to it.
Charlotte Brontë is a much better stylist than Emily was. But it’s still high gothic romance. I don’t like Jane Eyre as a story because I don’t particularly like high gothic romance. But it’s very beautiful to read, and Jane is a remarkable character. Whereas Wurthering Heights is just dribble. And the characters are awful.
It sounds like they are very different stories, and very differently written stories, which is encouraging to me. I will give Jane E a chance. Thank you for explaining the differences to me.
Jane Eyre is probably my favorite book of all times. Read it first when I was a young teen, and probably 4 or 5 times since then. My mother liked Wuthering Heights, so I tried it. Detested the characters, and the entire book!
Anything by Virginia Woolf, though I see what people see in her from the movies, especially Orlando and Mrs Dalloway. I watch Mrs Dalloway every year, but I was only able to get through the (slim) book once, and would never have remembered it afterward!
I really want to love her because we share a birthday! but so far, I've tried with Mrs. Dalloway, and, I always seem to set it down in favor of others things. It's only a couple hundred pages so I should be able to make it work but it's not grabbing me, at all.
OK, heavy sigh. We read Gentleman for Book Club 📚, and I agree that it's well written and has plenty of good points. BUT, and it's a big BUT, the whole premise is flawed. NONE of this would, or could, have happened. I get fantasy, and occasionally read it, but this is supposed to be realistic, unless I missed something, and it's not realistic in the slightest. This gentleman would have been shot summarily; he could not have lived on his "antique gold coins," because that constituted economic crime, which was punished most severely of all, and he could not have raised a little girl for x many years in his garret apartment, etc. [throws hands in air] It is just not believable.
I live near Knoxville where Suttree is set and the landmarks of the town were so much a part of the story. It gave me new eyes to see my town. I have a whole other perspective of Henley Bridge for sure.
As I Lay Dying. A description of me, slogging to the finish of this book. Stream of consciousness narration by 15 different characters, what could go wrong?
Alas. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice. I found the humor and snark delightful. That said, I’ve struggled getting up the interest to try another of hers. Eventually.
Same! I grew up in an Austenite's house so this was a hard one to come to terms with 😆 I will say Persuasion is the only one that gave me *some* kind of feelings toward the characters, but even so it was a stretch!
Yes. I love Austen myself, but contrary to most Persuasion is my least favourite. Only one I had to put down and start over again another time. By the time I finished I liked it but doubt I’ll reread that one.
Read Mansfield Park most recently and really enjoyed it.
lol same - I have tried and found her insufferable. so verbose! so chatty! I know she's somehow brilliant but I just cannot muster myself to care about her characters, either.
One Hundred Years of Solitude - also the approximate amount of time I tried to get into it…
LOL
I double-loathe A Man Called Ove. I hated it so much that I’m refusing to read anything else by Bachman!
I’ve only read one by Backman, Anxious People, and I hated it. I’d have a hard time working up to try another.
I couldn't get through Ove. I read My Grandmother Said to Tell You She's Sorry because my bestie loves it so much and got it for me and I promised her that I would. It's fine. I won't be reading any other Bachman books.
I whole heartedly agree about Bachman but the book that sent me over the edge was Anxious People. Never again.
Truly terrible.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Ugh. Same. I can’t get into her work. I’m going to try the fiction again at some point, but her essays and nonfiction work (e.g., the Genesis book) really turn me off.
I recently tried listening to the audiobook and abandoned it partway through.
I had to read it for a book club and I'm done with her now, too! Just brutal.
Yes! Same here. I couldn’t get through Gilead. Sometimes it’s all about timing, so I may revisit this one.
See, that is so funny, because there are plenty of books I just can’t slog through, but I’ve read Gilead twice.
Mileage may vary :)
For me, it would be Done Quixote and Catch 22. I guess I am just not a fan of that kind of satire
I enjoyed Catch 22 but Quixote! I’ve started that four or five times.
Oh this is a fun one to think about. A Gentleman in Moscow is on my list too. It felt like there was something off about the fairy tale-esque telling of Count Rostov's gilded cage situation while millions of other people were suffering unspeakable horrors at the time. I didn't feel much sympathy for him.
Also: My Name is Lucy Barton, The Goldfinch, All the Light We Cannot See
And I just read John William's Stoner, which I've seen described as a 'perfect novel' multiple times, and while it was thought-provoking, I didn't find it as masterful as it was purported to be.
Yes, I couldn’t work up any interest in the count. I just didn’t care about him.
Also: All the Light We Cannot See! That’s on my list too. I loved Cloud Cuckoo Land, but couldn’t get into All the Light.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who abandoned The Goldfinch. I gave it multiple chances, there was even one stretch that I was beginning to enjoy but that stretch was surrounded by what, to me, was bad prose, playing for time plot-wise, and implausible psychology.
I really want to love Donna Tartt but I never understand when people praise the beauty of her writing. So much of The Goldfinch was just tedious to me.
Stoner really pissed me off. The title character is just a complete jerk. We're supposed to sympathize with him while he cheats on his wife? No thanks. I'm really over books that valorize assholes.
I get that.
Agreed. I also found Edith to be portrayed in a very cartoonish way. There are some male writers who I just don't think write women convincingly.
Mrs Dalloway🫢
I’ve never even tried it.
Aww, I loved it. But it didn't set my world on fire or anything.
I recommend reading it along with The Hours (Michael Cunningham)
It was a torturous read!
Torturous! Yikes!
I couldn't even finish reading Mrs. Dalloway.
I literally cried trying to finish it!
Crime and Punishment. I stopped halfway through because I felt like reading it was punishment.
Crime and Punishment is one of favorite books. I have read it a number of times over the years. However a few years ago, I picked up a different translation and realized how critical the translator's role is. I could hardly make it through a quarter of the book before tossing it. Before writing it off, try a different translation.
After that experience, when multiple translations exist, I try to first assess the translations before selecting one. It makes that much difference, at least for me.
I read the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation of Anna Karenina and really enjoyed it.
I tried the Oliver Ready translation. I struck out after 100 or so pages.
The Oliver Ready translation was the one I strongly disliked. If you are inclined to give it another try, I would recommend the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation.
I think you are on to something! Pevear &B Volokhonsky's translation made me a believer in War and Peace (vastly superior to the other two I read). I'm going to find their version of C & P and give it a final go.
Also, in case you are curious, YouTuber Cams Campbell Reads does a decent job comparing various translations. He has a comparison spreadsheet in the description: https://youtu.be/xdS2HWpMykg?si=W_2mov8WmosUECOh
Excellent. Thank you!
Same experience for me. I struggled through for a while but abandoned it. I’ll come back eventually and give it another go.
Infinite Jest was infinitely boring to me. I was maybe 22 when I tried to read it, and I just couldn’t. Kept the book for a while then gave up and got rid of it. It was taking too much precious shelf space. Some people I admire really love this book and say incredible things about it. Perhaps I should try again but there are so many other long books that I think are much better.
I’ve heard many people that say the infinite refers to the page count.
I always enjoyed D F Wallace’s essays, like “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again”, so I persisted with Infinite Jest. I remember the experience, and kept trying to draw some thread from it that would reward the effort. Sort of an Everest climb without anything left but frostbite: I can’t imagine recommending it to a friend.
Thank you for saying this. You know, it’s so nice to hear it wasn’t just me.
Agree about Wallace -- some of his writing is good, but just about all of it is so self-involved that it's just tiresome.
Kristin Lavransdatter
I loved it, but I can understand why it doesn’t resonate with everyone.
I read it, but it left me flat. I couldn't get into her emotional drama. I didn't even keep the book. But I did love her father - he remains a memorable character.
Yes, he was a long suffering man.
I hate the character Erland. So. Much.
Me too! I quit reading when I saw she would marry him.
I struggled near the end as—spoiler alert—their relationship fell apart. No surprise. But her single life post Erland was inspiring.
Yes! Exactly. I persisted to the end, and though I liked the intrigue and drama, the core family itself frustrated the heck out of me. I read because of Simon, basically. I loved his character and virtue as a man. And yet you see him wrestle with these complex feeling regarding Erland. Gah. I hate Erland.
Yes, Simon was a good man, as was her father.
Both Simon and Lavrans were good, and remember that Simon was picked by the good father. He recognized who among the young men could have provided a good, stable life for young Kristin. This is such a cautionary tale.
I almost didn't finish it because I could not get out of the flood of tears - finally finished it and the two following....liked them, didn't love them
Yes. I simply cannot care about her arc. And I know it’s redemptive, so in one sense, it’s ’worth it’ but is it, really?
James by P. Everett. The build-up was such that I expected to relish it but halfway through I quit bc my eyes just couldn't roll anymore. How it gets acclaim is a complete mystery. Is it bc I teach literature and it is pop fiction? Not necessarily a Huck Finn lover, so that's not it...glad others like it, but my borrowed copy was hucked across the room.
I did appreciate it, but I had a few bones to pick with it. I actually found one feature so irritating I ended up not reviewing it. I just didn’t want to write about it.
Wuthering Heights is absolute DRIVEL. I wanted to rip my eyes out after reading that garbage.
And now I am afraid to read Jane Eyre because the authors are sisters...
I can’t stand Wuthering Heights but Jane Eyre is one of my favorites! They are completely different! Though, I was listening to a podcast recently that suggested Wuthering Heights should be read as a warning against unhealthy love not as a romance and now I kind of want to try it again (though probably won’t). It should be read the way Romeo and Juliet should be performed. It’s a warning, not “the greatest love story of all time” as some people like to refer to it.
Eudora - thanks for this encouragement! I'm glad to know these stories aren't at all like each other. That gives me hope!!
Charlotte Brontë is a much better stylist than Emily was. But it’s still high gothic romance. I don’t like Jane Eyre as a story because I don’t particularly like high gothic romance. But it’s very beautiful to read, and Jane is a remarkable character. Whereas Wurthering Heights is just dribble. And the characters are awful.
It sounds like they are very different stories, and very differently written stories, which is encouraging to me. I will give Jane E a chance. Thank you for explaining the differences to me.
Haha! You’ll have to see if your impression runs in the family :)
LOL You are right! I should face my fear, be brave and jump in! Maybe read Jane Eyre with a friend so someone is holding my hand. 😁
Sometimes reading with a friend is a really great idea, just to get you through the dryer bumpy parts.
Jane Eyre is probably my favorite book of all times. Read it first when I was a young teen, and probably 4 or 5 times since then. My mother liked Wuthering Heights, so I tried it. Detested the characters, and the entire book!
Wow! That's a great endorsement for Jane E, especially since you didn't like WH. Proof that they are very different books!!!
Anything by Virginia Woolf, though I see what people see in her from the movies, especially Orlando and Mrs Dalloway. I watch Mrs Dalloway every year, but I was only able to get through the (slim) book once, and would never have remembered it afterward!
I think Woolf might be a love-her-or-hate-her proposition.
I really want to love her because we share a birthday! but so far, I've tried with Mrs. Dalloway, and, I always seem to set it down in favor of others things. It's only a couple hundred pages so I should be able to make it work but it's not grabbing me, at all.
Watch the movie with Vanessa Redgrave! She narrates all through it. Actually I bet VW might be better read aloud? Hmm …
I also couldn't get through A Gentleman in Moscow.
Recently tried Piranesi and it was a total no-go. Abandoned ship around page 25 or so. Skimmed reviews and it seems it is a love it or hate it title.
Loved A Gentleman in Moscow, but I can understand why someone might not. In some ways, there really is no plot.
That’s where I ran aground. I didn’t feel like anything was actually happening.
OK, heavy sigh. We read Gentleman for Book Club 📚, and I agree that it's well written and has plenty of good points. BUT, and it's a big BUT, the whole premise is flawed. NONE of this would, or could, have happened. I get fantasy, and occasionally read it, but this is supposed to be realistic, unless I missed something, and it's not realistic in the slightest. This gentleman would have been shot summarily; he could not have lived on his "antique gold coins," because that constituted economic crime, which was punished most severely of all, and he could not have raised a little girl for x many years in his garret apartment, etc. [throws hands in air] It is just not believable.
You sound like me talking as the only person in the world who thought that Where the Crawdads Sing was ludicrous in half a dozen ways! :D
Groan. I've seen it on so many lists, Crawdads, that is, and it doesn't attract me at all.
Yes to all of this! The cognitive dissonance necessary for me to read and try to believe aspects of the book were just *too* much.
I just found myself bored out of my mind.
I meant to say, if you present something as historical fiction, it should at least be plausible.
That's what I'm saying.
I really loved Gentleman, too. I read it twice, almost back-to-back. It was my favorite Covid era book.
My wife loved it! She kept after me to read it for a while. Just never sparked.
The Road. The Cormac McSomething
I LOVED that one! But I totally get it. Not for everyone, or maybe even most.
Loved Suttree; on my All Time Favorites list.
I’ve not read Suttree yet. But I do love most of the McCarthy I’ve read.
I live near Knoxville where Suttree is set and the landmarks of the town were so much a part of the story. It gave me new eyes to see my town. I have a whole other perspective of Henley Bridge for sure.
I just finished re-reading Child of God. I’m planning on sharing my review of that this weekend.
I would add his last two, The Passenger and Stella Maris. They were okay, but a little disappointing.
I haven’t ventured into those yet.
There’s probably no rush. ; )
As I Lay Dying. A description of me, slogging to the finish of this book. Stream of consciousness narration by 15 different characters, what could go wrong?
A friend just finished reading that. I think he liked it. He said he a lot to process from it.
Perhaps I just lack processing power. 😬
LOL. Same here :)
Anything by Jane Austen. Intellectually I appreciate her accomplishment, but I just can't care about her characters.
Alas. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice. I found the humor and snark delightful. That said, I’ve struggled getting up the interest to try another of hers. Eventually.
Same! I grew up in an Austenite's house so this was a hard one to come to terms with 😆 I will say Persuasion is the only one that gave me *some* kind of feelings toward the characters, but even so it was a stretch!
I’ve heard many say Persuasion is her best.
Yes. I love Austen myself, but contrary to most Persuasion is my least favourite. Only one I had to put down and start over again another time. By the time I finished I liked it but doubt I’ll reread that one.
Read Mansfield Park most recently and really enjoyed it.
lol same - I have tried and found her insufferable. so verbose! so chatty! I know she's somehow brilliant but I just cannot muster myself to care about her characters, either.