These aren’t classics, and they’re very highly rated. However I found
The Name of the Rose and
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance tedious and pretentious, back when I read them. I always suspected that many of my friends, who absolutely idolized them, hadn’t actually read them.
A bit off topic, but I also don’t understand how anyone could like Thomas Hardy. Admire his writing, definitely, but to me, enjoying Hardy is like claiming to enjoy a toothache.