Which book has defeated you?

[xsquared]

Inspired by the top 100 thread, I thought I'd start a thread about books that you've tried reading, perhaps more than once, but given up on.

For me it's bloody Middlemarch! I'm 39 now and I started reading it around 15 hopefully in time to do an English essay about women's roles in 18th century literature, which was met with a "whoo" from my teacher at the time. She was right though.

Tried reading it again in my early 20s but was distracted with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Tried again at least twice more, probably on holiday somewhere and I think I've got to admit defeat. I don't seem to get much further than shortly after Dorothea marries Casauban.

I got half way through War and Peace when it was televised but lost interest when the series finished. I may try it again this year!

Captain Corelli ,tried several times.Thought I'd watch the film to see if it was worth it but fell asleep!

Can I be a pedant and point out to those mentioning Trainspotting that it's set in Edinburgh not Glasgow.

Yes, sorry @terryleather, you are right.

To be fair, I'm Glaswegian and thought I'd have a head start on the dialect in Trainspotting being not that far from Edinburgh^^ myself, but I still found it difficult at first - so not surprised others gave up!

The Luminaries
Ulysses

The Alexandria Quartet. I’m trying but dear god....
Can anyone offfer any ‘it gets better’ encouragement? It’s not helped by the fact that I can’t find anything I like about any of the characters. They just annoy me.

The house of leaves. Managed to get a quarter of the way through, it was just too much of a mind fuck.

I've tried Wild Swans and Birdsong a few times but just can't get into them.

I loved Wild Swans but I found the first part about her grandmother the least interesting and very hard going but I loved the rest and was glad I stayed with it.

Catch 22 for me too!

I was wondering if there had been a special edition of Trainspotting I'd missed

phonetic glaswegian edition

Couldn't get beyond the first chapter of Captain Corelli.

Trudged through 3/4 of Madame Bovary then accidentally found out what happens to her...never been so delighted to have an excuse to not finish a book.

Interesting to see pp's comment about Villette as have started it on at least 3 occasions but never got more than a few chapter in.

The Old Man & The Sea...GCSE text so I had to finish but I certainly wouldn't have chosen to...zzzzzz!

Ulysses. Didn't make it through the first chapter.

I also found Elena Ferrante boring - I finished it because it was a book club book but it was unanimously loathed by everyone.

Anything and everything by Tolstoy. Also, Ulysses.

Wuthering heights. I really want to read it but can't even finish the first chapter. Also passage to India. I loved Anna karenina though

This term I'm attempting to read Gödel, Escher, Bach (Hofstadter).
Depending on how it goes, this may end up joining my list of unfinished books.

I enjoyed the first Elena Ferrante but am on the second one now and God, it's dragging.

Also can't make it past chapter 3 of Zadie Smith's NW - oddly because I loved On Beauty.

Wuthering heights. I really want to read it but can't even finish the first chapter.

Really wouldn't bother trying. It is dire, but difficult to dislodge from your memory.

was wondering if there had been a special edition of Trainspotting I'd missed

phonetic glaswegian edition

Trainspotting is set in Edinburgh.

Moby Dick
The Magus
Yy to Elena Ferrante too. V hard going.

Count of Monte Cristo. (Had to read Stephen Fry' s take on it instead, much easier!)

Yes to catch 22 also

I’m surprised to see Thomas Pynchon only mentioned once so far. Gravity’s Rainbow. Bloody hell. What an absolute nightmare of a book. And I’m a literature graduate, a writer and a pretty determined reader! I’ve never made it past about 300 pages of that book though.

Parade's End
The Waves
The modernist module on my Eng Lit BA was clearly not my favourite.
Also too crap to even start Ulysses. Decided Portrait of the Artist during A level was the limit of my patience with that charlatan Joyce.
Ahh model student I was!

Word up though guys: seriously hated Middlemarch then listened to the Juliet Stevenson audiobook last year. OMG loved it soon much, her reading is so engaging and Dorothea is really such a fab female character pleeease give it a go! AVOID The Mill on the Floss though. Christ almighty total dirgefest.

Mine are:
The Night Manager
The Lovely Bones
The Canterbury Tales

Three very different books but all of them like plodding through treacle for me.

Origin of species.

(sorry, Mr Darwin)