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Original poster

What books were you 'supposed' to enjoy but thought were a pile of crap? And why?

237 replies

MrsMerryHenry · 03/05/2009 23:39

A Suitable Boy

Writing style far too poncey and utterly incapable of moving me.

OP posts:
Greensneeze · 04/05/2009 18:14

agree labyrinth was toss

Lilymaid · 04/05/2009 18:14

Labyrinth. Kate Mosse is on one of the book prize juries, so I thought a book by her would be well written. No it wasn't and it was at least 500 pages too long.

cyteen · 04/05/2009 18:08

The Lovely Bones - like being subjected to some particularly tiresome motivational speaking.

Jux my MIL lent me The Island and I agree that it is utter gash...but I read it in the two weeks following DS's birth and the terrible writing/decent yarn combo was actually just perfect for those 'wtf is going on?' times

The God Of Small Things - didn't even make it past chapter one, her prose irritated me so much.

Greensneeze · 04/05/2009 17:58

The Rachel Papers by that Amis twat. I was told it was witty and egdy and fresh. It was wank. Literally.

Comewhinewithme · 04/05/2009 17:58

Time travellers wife .

Tipping the velvet .

No time for goodbye :I thought this was like a bad episode of diagnosis murder .

Empire of the sun --- Gutted about this one .

The shack ---odd odd odd.

Twilight.

pointydog · 04/05/2009 17:53

oh small, my memory is awful. But there were a few wry digs at marketing, like the bit about creatives creating a creative etc and about twistuing words to sell any old thing to people. And I know it was all very dark, but I was also tcikled by the guy who returned as a clown. And I loved the phrase 'walking spanish' that meant being made redundant. Dark, often quite melancholy humour, but I did find quite a bit of humour in it.

Babbity · 04/05/2009 17:53

Flann O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds.

I tried, I tried, but had to conclude it was gibberish. Give me postmodern over the modernists any day.

InternationalFlight · 04/05/2009 17:48

Afraid I'm not a great reader, but if this were a music thread my answer would be 'Oasis'

smallchange · 04/05/2009 17:45

See, Confederacy of Dunces I did like, and it should have been pretty depressing too. [inconsistent]

SarahL2 · 04/05/2009 17:45

Glad I'm not the only one who hated Life of Pi!

I thought it was just me!!

smallchange · 04/05/2009 17:44

pointy - which parts? Really, because after seeing all those testimonials to its fabulous humour (all over the cover and several pages inside ) I felt a bit of a fraek not getting it.

MANATEEequineOHARA · 04/05/2009 17:30

Glad so many others have mentioned The Life of Pi, like... WTF! My mother reccomended it saying it was funny! Like hilarious...not. I hated it.

Also a Confederance of Dunces or whatever it is called...a load of nonsense about some vile character in New Orleans having to bounce vigorously on a bed to open his 'valve', I am still not sure entirely what that meant! Did I miss something!?

ALSO...recently read a book called The Weight of Numbers, one of these 'entwined lives' type things but gone horribly wrong! There were so many opportunities in it to make it more than it was it was frustrating!

pointydog · 04/05/2009 17:22

yes, I liked perfume var much

life of pi - very over rated

janeite · 04/05/2009 17:21

I liked 'Perfume' a lot. I also liked 'The Book Thief' hugely (and it made me cry: not like me really). I liked The Ladies' Detective Agency ones too, although I've only read a couple.

'Life Of Pi' - couldn't get beyond about page 12.

Ditto "Jonathon Strange etc'

'Fingersmith' - finished it but hated it.

pointydog · 04/05/2009 17:12

wholeheartedly agree with The Alchemist.

What a load of shite

pointydog · 04/05/2009 17:11

And then We came to the End - I loved it, small!

I found it very funny in parts.

iwanttolearn · 04/05/2009 17:06

Haven't started Life of Pi yet.

jeminthecity · 04/05/2009 17:05

One book that I DID grit my teeth and get through , only cos I was in book club thing, was the massive Mr Norrelli one?

Hopefully the proper title may come back to me...ahhh, Jonathon Strange and Mr Norelli? Or something like that?

Hated it most of the way through, but then loved it- although OI was the only person in the group, besides the person who proposed it, that actually finished it. everyon else hated it.

iwanttolearn · 04/05/2009 17:03

Both the Book Thief and the book by Dan Brown were sooooo, boring. Ugh!!

jeminthecity · 04/05/2009 17:02

Muffle- I really like 'On Chesil Beach', but I found it incredibly frustrating too.

WinkyWinkola · 04/05/2009 17:01

That Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

I've never read such a dry, dreary uninspiring story. Of course, everyone else raved about it.

And Sarah Waters Fingersmith - oh my god. It's like a seven year old girl wrote it. Soooooooooooo bad.

Jux · 04/05/2009 16:51

I enjoyed Life of Pi but remember nothing about it now. Also the ridiculous one about the boy and the tiger in the boat - mainly because it was so ridiculous.

The detective agency stuff is a very light read but does have some musings in which are quite thoughtful and therefore, imo, not a dead loss like Da Vinci Code which wasn't even well written.

And I will never forgive that Hislop woman for ruining a good story (I'm a bit obssessed!)

bluebump · 04/05/2009 16:20

On Beauty, I loved Zadie Smith's other books but didn't even finish this one.

mrsmaidamess · 04/05/2009 16:18

Harry Potter and the anything
Da Vinci Code
Craptain Corelli
Ladies detective..I mean, who cares?

PieceNharmoknee · 04/05/2009 16:16

Life of pi was truly awful - god knows why I didn't just abandon it?