I’ll go with the low-hanging fruit: Mein Kampf. I’ve read it, cover to cover. As a piece of propaganda, it’s good. As an example of good writing? Absolutely not (though I will admit I have only read it in translation). Oh, and the whole fascist, racist, and generally shitty worldview of the author that he infuses into the text. And the fact that the author is literally Hitler. You 5-star that book? You’re a Nazi. Period. And as a Jewish person, I don’t look too kindly on them.
Intro to philosophical fiction is a good way to put it. Like, yes, it’s nice, and the message is pretty obvious. But it’s not necessarily supposed to be anything else but itself.
I hated it when I first read it (8th grade, Catholic school haha, so it fits), I found it probably one of the most healing things I’d ever read, but I read it a few years later after I’d experienced some shit, and I appreciated it more.
You kind of have to want a slower, more philosophical book, because otherwise it IS really boring. Most philosophy would be boring to someone looking for an action adventure or a passionate romance.
Is it my favorite novel? No. But I don’t hate it anymore. Someone’s favorite novel might give me pause, as I’d think they were too enlightened for me haha, whether in truth or just in their head!