I wish I could return this book....

[antimatter]

Got it on Kindle. Paid a tenner
Purity by Jonathan Franzen.

I liked only some parts of it. Gave up after reading half if it. Not going to read his other books either even though reviews say they are fairly good.
He is a mysogyn who thinks he can write. There's god book in it but it would require someone better than this author.

I think East Germany part was the best of what I read so far. Frantzen describing sexual scenes? Unpleasant.

[CoteDAzur]

Depending on when you bought it, I think you can still return it.

[antimatter]

Very recently. I'll check with amazon.

[CoteDAzur]

Just go to your account page and click on return. It should be OK

[DuchessofMalfi]

As long as it was within the last 30 days. I've returned several over the years without problem.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Can you really do this? For being crap???!!!

[CoteDAzur]

How did you not know this, Remus?

I don't know if it works after you have finished a book (Amazon knows!) but if not, they take it back no questions asked.

[lorelei9]

do Amazon charge if you return it just because you don't want it, so to speak? I mean a return fee or postage fees?

[MargoReadbetter]

Oh no. I'm 40% through this. I thought the East Germany bit was good.

I didn't know about returning books either!

[CoteDAzur]

No, Amazon doesn't charge you to return Kindle books.

[lorelei9]

oh - I thought Amazon only allowed Kindle returns in 7 days ...I also thought they'd charge for a physical book to be returned but in 30 days.

[TurnOffTheTv]

Nope. I return audiobooks sometimes through audible, they are very good about it.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

This is a revelation! So I could have given up on the travesty that was that idiot Merrily stupid vicar whatshername and got my money back (all £1.99 or whatever it was!) too?!!!

My life is transformed from henceforth.

[Canyouforgiveher]

you show excellent taste, OP.

You might enjoy this article

www.salon.com/2015/08/21/dear_jonathan_franzen_no_women_dont_need_to_go_looking_for_a_villain_and_you_are_not_a_victim/

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Glad I'm not the only one who gave up on 'Pure.' The cover was so pretty but I was bored stupid by it.

[antimatter]

Margo - I really wanted to finish it. It took me to 30% to start enjoying it but the mysogyny and the outragenousness of Purity the character just upset me.
I am off to read thar article Cany.

No option to return my book on Amazon account.
I returned several on Audible in the past.

[antimatter]

Frantzen mysogyny screamed at me in the way he describes male-female relationships.

I wa going to buy the latest book by Houellebecq. I read first chapter in the bookshop and just felt sick at the way he talks there about women. I am not going to prop his ego by buying it.

I am so angry at Frantzen that I vowed to myself to read for a while books written only by female authors.

[Fatrascals]

I got really low after reading a Houellebecq many years ago.
I didn't realise what I was letting myself in for and was already feeling quite disillusioned and alone.

That f**ker drained all hope out of me - took me quite a while to recover.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Ah - I think the one I disliked was a different book = 'Pure' not 'purity'. Doh!

[CheBoludo]

Seriously? Most people on this thread would return a book after reading all or most of it? You don't think that a year or several years' of an author's working life is worth whatever you paid for the book? Would you drink a latte and then try to get a refund? Or wear a coat twice, decide you didn't like it and return it to the store?
I don't begrudge paying for books that I haven't enjoyed - I respect the time and effort the author has put into it and I feel they deserve to be paid for their work even if it is not to my taste. I can't understand avid readers who begrudge paying a fair price for a book or think that because it isn't to their taste, they should be refunded.
If you buy something by accident, or read 20 pages (listen to 20mins) and decide you don't like it, then I think a refund is perfectly acceptable. But the people who read or listen to a whole book then return for refund are no better than those who read pirated copies. Since when did we as a society decide that a coffee had more inherent value than a book?

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I think you will find that most of the thread is about people discussing returning a book when they discover they dislike it, rather than having read the whole thing, or most of it.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Having said that, I have met many cups of coffee which represented more talent than the horror that was Merrily W.

[CheBoludo]

Well, I've lurked on many threads over the years and I've seen plenty of comments about listening to whole books through audible and then returning for a refund, simply because they didn't enjoy the narration.
I've also seen the "didn't like it, return it" position put forward about ebooks. Having spent the afternoon with some wonderful writers, I was upset by how little their biggest fans value them.

[CoteDAzur]

Well, I've read many moronic comments on MN over the years but I'm not beating YOU over the head with them, am I?

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Che - maybe address those comments, rather than the people on here who are absolutely not talking about what you are describing.

You're on Adult Fiction. The people on here buy/read lots and lots of books. We're talking about realising within a few chapters/soon after buying that the book is not for them, not about greedily devouring a book and then expecting our money to be returned.

Although,to return to Merrily stupid W, I probably ought to have been paid for finishing the damn thing!

[antimatter]

Che, I bought several hundred pounds worth of books on audible. If narration spoils the book I return it. I think I have right to be unghappy about 1 in 10 or 15 boooks I paid for.

This book, Purity I read 50% of and it really upset me that I didn't like it. I wanted to like it! I persevered. I spent my precious 2x30 min I have on the train during my commuting every day.
I have to say I get easily swayed by an atmosphere of a book I am reading.

Unfortunately Frantzen's book upset me because he writes about women in derogatory way.
I haven't read any interviews with him or articles about this book prior. I like reading anything and everything with an open mind. I don't like influence if others to cloud my experience.
I am not a book snob or interested in trends. Just like good literature and good, well written stories.
Not sure why comments about great writers not being valued made it to this thread.
It is debatable if Frantzen is a great writer but by now I read on the net that he would like to be called that.