It’s a question inspired by this post https://www.reddit.com/r/books/s/s2jK2DzFrA by u/oh_sneezeus
Is there any book that is considered a classic or regularly shows up on the “100 books to read before you die” lists and such, you had high expectations before reading and then you ended up absolutey detesting?
For me it’s Blindness by José Saramago, it started off good and then page after page it was becoming more unbearable for me to read, I hated the characters, the things they were doing and the conclusions of the book. I was really disappointed because the plot seemed really good and all I ended up with was frustration.
Is there a book that did the same to you?
Catcher in the Rye and Ulysses. I’ve tried both multiple times, gave up every time. Reading Ulysses felt like pure torture. The language was just too much for me. Call me too dumb for it. I don’t care. I tried. I couldn’t.
And Catcher was because I found Holden absolutely unbearable as a character. That’s probably the point and why it’s considered the great book it is, but man I just wanted to slap him. Just an insufferable know it all.
Ulysses is the worst book I’ve tried to read, couldn’t make it. It wasn’t the language, it was the “stream of consciousness” unreadable gibberish.