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Original poster

Popular book that you didn’t enjoy

459 replies

Wanttocry · 19/06/2021 16:33

Not really a TAAT but inspired by the Crawdads thread.

What’s a book that has been raved about, but that you didn’t really enjoy? For me it would have to be The Goldfinch, I just didn’t really get it.

OP posts:
BeckyWithTheGoodHair5629456 · 19/06/2021 20:50

A little life. It's ENDLESS. just going on and on and on. Still haven't finished it have been trying on and off for 3 years.

TheMoth · 19/06/2021 20:28

I thought The Night Circus was bloody awful too. Predictable and more like teen fiction.

I cried at Hamnet though. Enjoyed all the wolf halls. Agree The Goldfinch was too long and reminded me a bit of Vernon God Little. I've taught Remains quite a bit. It's a grower. And a lot of fun with a sparky group.

LawnFever · 19/06/2021 19:42

@TheMoth

Oh my god, I'd forgotten I am Pilgrim. Possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. So bad, it was like a parody. Thoroughly enjoyed writing an amazon review of it thoughGrin
I remember being incredibly irritated by the smug foreword about how incredibly complicated it all was (it wasn’t Grin)
Alcemeg · 19/06/2021 19:26

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Alcemeg · 19/06/2021 19:25

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Kanaloa · 19/06/2021 19:25

Oh pps have already said A Little Life! I thought everyone except me thought it was amazing!

Kanaloa · 19/06/2021 19:23

Mine is We the Animals. I felt it was trying so hard to be poignant and meaningful and it actually just felt really try hard to me.

Also, and I know everyone loves this, but A Little Life. I didn’t find it moving, I actually felt it became comically ridiculous as more and more awful things happened. I also thought the characters were very ‘flat’ and not well written.

weebarra · 19/06/2021 19:23

I couldn't finish Shantaram.
People raved about My Brilliant Friend but it annoyed me a lot.
And The Goldfinch, I loved The Secret History but not that one!

Alltheprettyseahorses · 19/06/2021 19:22

The Thursday Murder Club. Over-sentimental with a sloppy plot that didn't really make sense.

I do like Wuthering Heights, I have to say Grin although for me the real relationship that makes the story sing is Nelly and Heathcliff.

Downriver · 19/06/2021 19:21

Girl, Woman, Other I thought was so clunky and the characters rang so untrue. I didn't finish it. Does it get better?

Abracadabra12345 · 19/06/2021 19:17

The 100 Year Old Man who jumped out of a Window and ran away

The Beekeeper of Aleppo for the literary device which drove me mad

I adored Secret History for its gorgeous lyrical writing, and agree about Goldfinch needing a good edit! I loved Bell Jar, and I plan to reread Crawdads every year! I also loved Eleanor Oliphant

MilesOfSand · 19/06/2021 19:11

I just struggled with the grotesque beginning of I am Pilgrim - so gory.

JackieTheFart · 19/06/2021 19:10

@Wanttocry

Not really a TAAT but inspired by the Crawdads thread.

What’s a book that has been raved about, but that you didn’t really enjoy? For me it would have to be The Goldfinch, I just didn’t really get it.

The Goldfinch was my first answer when I saw the title @Wanttocry! So boring. I got about a third of the way through. I can’t remember anything about it, not even what it was supposed to be about.
Lightswitchesoffatnight · 19/06/2021 19:10

And the Life of Pi, boring.

Lightswitchesoffatnight · 19/06/2021 19:09

A Man Called Ove. I didn't finish it, he got right on my nerves.

onemouseplace · 19/06/2021 19:07

I didn't mind The Goldfinch, but it suffered from needing a damn good edit.

onemouseplace · 19/06/2021 19:06

Oh god, The Alchemist. I had to read it for book club as well and it was the first book I'd read there that I was genuinely amazed that anyone actually liked, let alone raved about (and there were people who did).

YoutubeZoom · 19/06/2021 19:05

The Mirror and the Light
Transcendent Kingdom
Bleak House

Just could not get into them. I read all the other books in the Hilary Mantel series as well...

I loved Normal People, The Goldfinch, Eleanor Oliphant, My Brilliant Friend. Blush

midsomermurderess · 19/06/2021 19:03

Shantaram is so bad it is almost comical. There is a very funny one-star review/parody of it on Amazon including:
'I walked back to the slum alone, up to my waist in filth, but I didn't care, for I was hard. A rampaging lion threatened to kill two small Indian children, until I flicked it off them with my little finger. After all, it isn't the lion that kills us, it's the lying. God, that's clever. "You're incredible isn't it," waggled the Indians'.

Privateandconfidentialplease · 19/06/2021 19:02

I really wanted to like The Goldfinch. It started off interesting and just lost it. I also didn't like Gone girl. I thought all the characters were horrible and though I did finished it, it just went from bad to worse. I loved Jane Eyre. I read Lovely bones many years ago and I enjoyed it but not the end.

GloriousMystery · 19/06/2021 19:01

Hang on, though, where are you all getting the ‘hype’ from? Are you confusing ‘hype’ with ‘being any good’? Because literally no reviewer ever suggested for a moment that Fifty Shades of Grey was anything other than humungously silly, not-very-dirty fan fic.

TheMoth · 19/06/2021 18:53

Oh my god, I'd forgotten I am Pilgrim. Possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. So bad, it was like a parody. Thoroughly enjoyed writing an amazon review of it thoughGrin

Dodeee · 19/06/2021 18:49

Cloud Atlas. Really wanted to enjoy it but just didn’t

Winnithegreat · 19/06/2021 18:47

Girl, woman, other - I realised i need punctuation 😄. Tried a few times but never got further that a few pages.
I wasn’t taken so much by The Bell Jar either.

Did enjoy Eleanor Oliphant and Thursday murder club as easy quick reads.

mamaduckbone · 19/06/2021 18:45

I agree with A Life of Pi - tried it, couldn't finish it.
A Little Life - ploughed through it but found it so depressing and just increasingly improbable.
I loved Crawdads, Secret History, Kite Runner and whilst I don't think Matt Haig is a literary genius I did enjoy both How to Stop Time and The Midnight Library as easy but quite thought provoking reads.

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