Popular book that you didn’t enjoy

[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.

@NotSoLongGoodbye

The Secret History - Donna Tartt. Overly long, unoriginal plot, dreadful characters. Tries to be profound but it actually dull. Really, really, really don't understand why so many people think it is marvellous.

I actually like it because of its flaws -- I think Donna Tartt's intention was that we would recognise the Greek class as dreadful poseurs (every bit as tiresome as the characters we're supposed to dislike, like Judy Poovey or Bunny's girlfriend Marion), and to grasp that it's only gauche, suburban Richard who finds them all glamorous and brilliant and subversive, and that he's deluding himself.

But I think DT actually falls intermittently in love with her own characters and asks us to believe that it is actually fundamentally superior to (a) walk around with Sanskrit books under your arm and to get drunk on brandy while playing the grand piano in a country house with a ballroom to (b) hanging suicidal quote from Artaud and Barbie dolls from a noose on your dorm door, and getting drunk doing shots at frat parties.

When it's just a different type of student pretentiousness.

The time travellers wife. Just crap.

Harry Potter and the philosophers Stone, read with my daughter and we were both a bit perplexed as to what all the fuss is about. Never read any more of them.

Charlottes Web. Found the writing incredibly dull. Will stick with the movie.

Oh and I forgot... anything by Ian McEwan. Cannot stand his writing, I find him totally irritating.

Tattooist of Auschwicz. A remarkable story very poorly told.

One Day - I could hear Hugh Grant in my head when I was reading it and I have no idea why.

Goldfinch - bored the tits off me.

Here’s some I disliked intensely:
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, great idea but pretentious and unreadable. On the Road, the Kerouac classic, horrible characters and poverty tourism. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, more druggie nonsense.
The Bunker Diaries- the most miserable young person’s book ever. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, supposed to be a children’s book, yet I have never met a child who liked it, it seems to be adults who rave about it and think children should like it.
The Girl on the Train, Never Let me Go.
Not keen on anything by Jane Austen though I realise lots of people love her to bits and I don’t loathe her books, just not a fan.

@SionnachRua

Also, has anyone said the Book Thief? I hear that it's meant to be amazing. I have a copy here that I routinely pick up, struggle through a few chapters and then remember how much I hate it, so away it goes. Until a few months later when this fool tries again

The only good thing about The Book Thief is that the top rated review on Goodreads is very funny www.goodreads.com/book/show/19063.The_Book_Thief

@AmadeustheAlpaca
Agree re Jonathon Strange, Fear and Loathing, Curious Incident, Girl on the Train and Never let me go. Although I am an Austen Fan.

I loved Jonathan Strange, and loved the writing style especially the footnotes - my only complaint is I have it in hardback and it is such a hefty tome it defies re-reading, I have tried so many times but it is too heavy to read in bed, in the bath or carry around to read on journeys.
I also loved On The Road when I read it as a teen and in my early 20s but probably wouldn't like it so much now. And Never Let Me Go, I loved that too!

@CeaselessWatcher. I guess everyone”s different. My other intense dislike is The Amber Spyglass, it rambles on and on turgidly and I’m not too keen on the fact that a former English teacher writes about two twelve year olds having sex as if it”s a beautiful cosmic experience. Didn’t mind Northern Lights, Subtle Knife, a bit meh.

The Miniaturist. Over written and dull.

Captain Corelli. Tried numerous times as people encourage you to persist - but no. I just can't stick with it.

Harry Potter. I was expecting a real quality classic. It's just not, and the literary illusions are clanking and clumsy. It's all about the marketing. Little literary merit. Straight to the charity shop, and can't even recall which one it was.

My other intense dislike is The Amber Spyglass, it rambles on and on turgidly and I’m not too keen on the fact that a former English teacher writes about two twelve year olds having sex as if it's a beautiful cosmic experience

If it helps in The Secret Commonwealth we are told they didn't have sex. Probably a bit of backtracking but I guess it's canon now.

Oh I presumed they had had sex too - I haven’t read the new ones yet though! I always thought it was a bit off because for some reason I presumed Will was older. I think he’s described as ‘near manhood’ at one point so I assumed he was in his teens.

I think Phillip Pullman has backtracked on that one, it does imply in Amber Spyglass that they do, I thought at the time they were a metaphor for Adam and Eve?

Yes that’s what I thought but I can see why he backtracked on it. I felt the implication was pretty clear though.

not so much that I didn't enjoy but I couldn't care less about either HP or LOTR so I've never attempted to read them.
I did suffer through the first LOTR films to be nice to DH, it wasn't worth it.

just not my genre

Shardlake - just boring
Harry Potter
Anything Jackson Brodie (sorry Kate! I loved A God in Ruins though)
Anything Ben Elton

Stoner by John Williams

Oh I agree the implication was pretty clear in The Amber Spyglass. In the TV series the actors are older than Lyra and Will were in the books and of course are getting older each year (Dafne Keen and Amir Wilson are now 16 and 17) and so it won't seem so off when we get to that stage on screen.

The Da Vinci Code

I bit the bullet and read Me Before You, my friend who raves about it promised that it would like it despite being a romance. I fucking despised it with all my being, vile book. I then followed this up with Crawdads and the Murder Club, hated both and now have turned into a horrible cynic.

Prior to this I usually liked all the "buzzy" books, or at least enjoyed them even if I thought they were a bit naff. Most of the others in this thread I greatly enjoyed.

Yes I agree it will seem more ‘normal’ as they’re older, or possibly they’ll just sort of skate over it/change it round a bit. Must get round to reading the new ones at some point!

@Maggiesfarm

The Da Vinci Code

@Maggiesfarm

can't blame you. thankfully never read the book but the film was shite

ZingDrama, I too saw the film and thought it was dire. I sort of hoped it might be better than the book. I bought the book and another of his, Angels and Demons, in a charity shop and two stories were mixed up in my head. That shows how forgettable it was. It was a strange period of time though, so many people were fascinated by it and visiting some old chapel in Scotland on holiday. Weird.

Another charity shop buy of mine was 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. I thought that was horrible!

so many people were fascinated by it and visiting some old chapel in Scotland on holiday.

To be fair, Rosslyn Chapel is worth a visit even if you've never read the books.

The Midnight Library - urgh - just so over-hyped!
Shantaram - dreadful, just dreadful
Girl, Woman, Other - did this for book group and at least half of us hated it, but you could tell that nobody wanted to say because, y'know, it's written by the current literary golden girl Bernadine Evaristo. I thought it was just so obviously formulaic and diversity box-ticking.