Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
For me, of the three main qualifications as I saw them, long, difficult, boring, I think a book has to have at least two of them to meet the “lying poseur” level of (dis)likeability. I get The Old Man and the Sea and The Trial and others of that ilk; they’re both difficult and dull enough to make someone look squinty-eyed at a person who said they liked them. Ditto for …and Ladies of the Club; not difficult, but certainly long and boring. But Pride and Prejudice? It’s one thing not to like it; maybe social comedies of manners are not your thing, and it’s compounded by being set two centuries ago. However, you really can’t get that other people might actually like it? That is, a book has to be more than just boring to qualify. There has to be that element of turgidity.
I’m not singling out Jon, just a title. I rather agree with him about Infinite Jest, Gravity’s Rainbow, Naked Lunch and Ayn Rand; well chosen. But a book has to be more than just “not to my taste.”
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As someone who is on their FIFTH read of
War and Peace, I can see where folks would classify it as all three - long, difficult and boring. It has never been my experience, but it is for many people. Though I think the difficulty/boring scale is where your mileage is going to vary. The difficult to read standard is particularly difficult because you have readers coming to works at many different skill levels and contextual backgrounds. I tried to get another attorney I know who has almost as many degrees as I do to read
War and Peace and she did not make it 10 pages. She did not have the patience for the footnotes or not understanding the history that was being referenced.
Having said that, my wife adores Hemingway and I just cannot bring myself to care. I was forced to read him for one of my degrees and I have never gotten over the dislike. It fell under the boring (and in some cases too long) for me.
I have a soft spot for war diaries personally and many folks cannot stand those. I think diaries are unique in that you have to know the history of the time you're reading to really appreciate them.