Most overrated books

[Snowfalling]

I'll probably get flamed for some of these choices but here's my list:

1. Brick lane by Monica Ali. So badly written and researched, i was embarrassed for the author, as I'm from a similar background to her.

1. The God of small things. There was one sentence that was repeated over and over again to the point of toe curling cringe. Something about the twin's hair bobbing. Also generally didn't enjoy the writing or plot. Just absolute crap. I don't get the adulation for this at all.

1. Anything by Maggie o'Farrell or Kate Atkinson. I know people love them both, i just don't get it.

1. Sophie Hannah's more recent books are just dire. The earlier ones were great.

1. Catch 22. Just gibberish. You probably have to be drugged up to enjoy it.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

So which books do you think are overrated?

This one possibly not overrated - I read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and loved it. Now that had hype. I then read The Marriage Plot by him and it is awful. Obnoxious characters, no real plot - I can barely remember what happened but remember the distaste.

Can’t answer the child rape scene from Cloud Atlas as I don’t remember it - IMO the film is much better than the book.

I've never finished anything by Joseph Conrad, even the short story I tried.

Glad you feel like that about Labyrinth. Reading it was like eating sand.

@EightAce Hahahaha [fistbump]

Another Catch 22 vote - I rarely give up on a book but had to about 50 pages in. Also Umberto Eco The Name of the Rose. It just went on and on. When any action actually happened it was fine but the endless discussions and musing on various texts were pretty dull.

I completely agree with people saying Jodi Picoult's novels are very samey. I once read two of her books in a row in both of which which a teenaged girl falsely accused a man of rape. In both of them the girl was asked by a policeman in front of her father if she'd been a virgin and in both it had practically the same sentence something like "She fixed her eyes firmly on her father's face as she answered."

The Lovely Bones. Tried and failed to read it about four times. I found it so boring.

Danielewski's cult novel House of Leaves. Reading it is like banging your head against a wall - the exquisite relief when you stop.
For those of you who haven't tried it, it's a supernatural/time travel story within a story written in an experimental way.
There's pictures and millions of footnotes. Text goes in different directions, and there's blank pages and different PoVs. But so long and boring with no real denouement. Aghhhh.

Disagree with Catch 22 OP it’s my favourite book!!

However We are all completely beside ourselves was the biggest pile of shite I ever read.

And Gone Girl - bollocks

Jonathan strange and mr norrell- absolute bollocks

The poisonwood bible - as above

No time travel book is as good as Charlotte Sometimes was when I was ten.

I think you are wrong about catch-22. catch-22 reminds me of "full metal jacket", "goodfellas". Sort of "fun" first half, and than increasingly more serious second half.

I agree somewhat about Lord of the Rings - There's a lot of flowery singing and poetry to get through. In the film, the quest had to start immediately - but in the book, it took about 6 months. Still LOTR is really a kids book, in the same way as Harry Potter. Kids books were much harder going years ago. Tom Brown's Schooldays was hard going in places.

Have you ever picked up a Magnet and read any of the Greyfriars stories? A lot of words, but never hard going. Frank Richards was the most prolific author of all time.

I think some books are like The Emperor's new clothes. There's a hype about them and most people especially those in the publishing industry or critics etc are scared to say, actually this book is boring pretentious crap. So they perpetuate the hype for fear of seeming stupid and ignorant of a book's cultural and historical relevance/value.

Her fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger. This had the basis of a great ghost story set in a house backing on to a cemetery but was so dull with no suspense and unbelievable characters.

I loved the Name of the Rose.
Could not stand My Brilliant Friend.
The friend sounded like a nasty piece of work

Agree with a number of these (but also had some of my favourite authors / books mentioned - Wolf Hall is my favourite book, I love Jane Austen, Hardy, Jasper Fforde).

I'm not sure anyone has mentioned Shantaram. It makes me angry how much time I wasted reading such self-indulgent, barely literate, poorly edited wank.

Anna Karenina: gave up two chapters before the end. Just could not bring myself to give enough of a shit to carry on that last little bit. I found everyone despicable.

Anything by Dickens: sentimental tripe.

Wuthering Heights: insufferable.

Absolutely agree with above pp about Brick Lane and the Minaturist too.

I always say One Day by David Nicholls on these threads.

That's because I'll never tire of pointing out what a lot over hyped tosh it is.

Isn't Cold Mountain a short story? I thought it was quite good.

And The God of Small Things is possibly my favourite novel, ever. The writing is superb.

Equally, The Remains of the Day is a superbly written book.

I'm astonished at the casual way a poster at the start of this thread dissed 'the Brontes, Austen, Hardy and suchlike'.... All of these authors are worth reading and all wrote excellent books.

Overrated are: Ian MccEwan - while he can write well (Solar is a great book) but as a poster said upthread, his female characters are totally unbelievable and some of his writing is pretentious.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin - thought it was pretentious tripe.

Ditto The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver - while I thought the Poisonwood Bible was flawed but had its merits, the Lacuna was unremittingly tedious and polemical. Just awful.

Always thought To Kill a Mocking Bird was overrated.

Midnight's Children and Cloud Atlas - lots of those pretentious, 'clever' books are such a bore.

The Kite Runner - superficial and badly written, which ruined what should have been a great and important story.

Boy In striped pajamas and Tattooist of Auschwitz - it astounds me that people think they can produce entertainment out of the Holocaust, and both these books have been shown to be full of inaccuracies. Just awful and so disrespectful.

Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear- recent best seller, amazing reviews- I just found it dull, predictable, implausible, silly....

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
Candide - Voltaire
Ulysses - James Joyce
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer (doesn't deserve to be listed with these authors though, she is nowhere near the skill level)
Gerald's Game - Stephen King (the only one of his I didn't like)

Doerr's 'All the light we cannot see'. Was so hyped but I greatly disappointed, especially with the ending. It was as though the author had got bored.

No, 'Cold Mountain' is a full-length novel. I thought it was good and it had a happy ending, unlike the movie.

I liked the lovely bones and thought lucky was ok, but i hated hated hated the almost moon by the same author. Just awful.

I cannot read the Hobbit or LOTR and really don't like Ian McEwan.

I loved Wuthering Heights when was at school but can't connect with it now.

But I thought A Little Life was brilliant and have been recommending it to everyone I know!

White Teeth. Historically flawed about a period I know something about which makes me wonder what else is poorly researched.

I like Catch -22 though