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Original poster

Which book/books have you really tried hard to read,but failed ?

281 replies

Mirage · 29/06/2007 23:42

Mine are;
Ulysses(sp)
Wild Swans

OP posts:
bundle · 03/07/2007 15:37

oh, and though I did manage to finish it, Shadow of the Wind was the biggest crock of s**t I've ever read

LaBoheme · 03/07/2007 15:36

Sohpie's world - what a load of utter shi** imho, didn't want to finish it.

I have been trying to finish Crime and Punishment for ohh 10 years now, love it, but just keep having to pause. Also Alexander S--- "Cancer Ward" excellent but again, really heavy.

MuddynoSugar · 03/07/2007 15:31

Oh and loved...really loved Memory Keepers Daughter. Absolutely FAB

MuddynoSugar · 03/07/2007 15:29

Liked Oscar and Lucinda, Owen Meany, Catch 22. Brought the Satanic Verses when it first came out and it still looks at me like some great Albatross of unreadibleness(not sure that is a word similarly Dorian by Will Self, I feel like I should read his stuff...but I just don't want to...

JulesJules · 03/07/2007 15:29

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

casbie · 03/07/2007 14:38

at not getting through northern lights - a real hit in my house!

CatIsSleepy · 03/07/2007 13:18

oh and agree with whoever said Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro was bad...I finished it but disliked it, though not as much as I disliked When we were orphans. laughably bad.

Quattrocento · 03/07/2007 13:18

No but it is poignant, I do agree.

CatIsSleepy · 03/07/2007 13:16

(QC did it make you cry? it did me...)

Quattrocento · 03/07/2007 13:15

Not only did I finish Oscar and Lucinda, but I enjoyed it so much I reread it! It has survived many purges!

CatIsSleepy · 03/07/2007 13:15

same to you too bundle!

bundle · 03/07/2007 13:09

Quincunx

CatIsSleepy · 03/07/2007 13:07

alphonsa I finished Oscar and Lucinda! enjoyed it too...

loved Atonement, hated Saturday (and Amsterdam)-boring and pointless.

loved War and Peace except for last chapter...

I seem to be the only ever to finish/enjoy the Little friend by Donna Tartt!

agree Tony Parsons books are drivel-I did finish one but felt kind of disgusted with myself for doing so!

chocolatedot · 03/07/2007 13:06

I finished the Little Friend but found the story very disappointing although enjoyed the quality of writing. Another one I abandoned was "May contain nuts" by John O'Farell. Completely ridiculous story set to his own agenda.

harpsichordcuddler · 03/07/2007 12:46

Mao Biography
Midnight's Children
in fact all of the collected works of Sir Rushdie

doobypoo · 03/07/2007 12:41

Time Travellers wife too.Also some book by Tony Parsons...utter drivel and Shipping News

mwro · 03/07/2007 12:26

I loved Wild Swans, Captain Corelli, The Blind Assassin and all the Northern Lights books.

Couldn't finish Sophie's World, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Silmarillion. Or most books I read in Greek - they always seem to get put down a quarter way through

Has anyone read the Clan of the Cave Bear books by Jean McAuel? I love them

lilylilyrose · 03/07/2007 11:53

I've read Sophie's World 4 or 5 times

Haven't finished:

Donna Tartt - The Little Friend (loved The Secret History though)
Mervyn Peake - any of the Gormenghast books
The first Northern Lights book

chocolatedot · 03/07/2007 10:13

It's a relief to discover I'm not alone on stuff like Wild Swan, Captain Correlli etc. I also didn't finish Brick Lane and would be interested to know if anyone else struggled with it as it was such an acclaimed book.

I am half way through the Night Watch and the Island and utterly disinterested in both - I now feel justified in abandoning them.

missgriss · 03/07/2007 09:23

LOTR here as well. I got halfway through the second book before finally giving up. Even with skipping the bits with the long tedious songs/poetry it still couldn't hold my attention.

I tried to read Shadow of the Wind as well but put it down for good after 3 chapters.

aDad · 03/07/2007 08:55

Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell definitely
Atonement. Not my thing at all, but I like lots of McEwan.
Brett Easton Ellis - anything.
We Need to Talk about kevin.

Loved Life of Pi - really surprised that people struggled with that.
Love Murakami but CAN understand why people would struggle with any of those.

DaddyJ · 03/07/2007 08:49

'Reading Lolita in Tehran' is a beautiful read
albeit a bit slow at times, I admit.

lol at 'Cold Mountain' - dw insisted I add it to this list.
She persevered and bitterly regretted it.

DontCallMeBaby · 02/07/2007 22:30

I have finished Life of Pi, minorityofone, and am not your MiL ... however you haven't actually met me (probably, you never know)!

I should count Cold Mountain as unfinished, as I left it on a 'plane somewhere in north America, and didn't care enough to get a replacement copy.

geekgirl · 02/07/2007 22:23

uuurgh yes, Wild Swans I abandoned after the first quarter. Felt v. liberating.

thejugglingwoman · 02/07/2007 22:20

How interesting that so many books keep cropping up repeatedly. Mine are:

Oryx & Crake ( despite being a massive Atwood fan)
Wild Swans
Captain C's Mandolin

Have never tried re-reading any of them : life is too short.

Repeatedly thought of giving up on Never Let Me Go (latest Ishiguro) and sincerely regret I didn't. Quite the worst book I have ever read.

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