Which books have you decided not to finish and why?

[Fiddlesticks1]

Are there any books you decided not to continue reading and why?
For me two books.
The Plague Dogs- just found it too upsetting
and in the days of devouring books by Russian authors I gave up on Dostoyevsky because I found them depressing.

Milkman.

None of the characters have names, they’re known by eg “the milkman” or “boyfriend”.

I’m sure there’s some literary reason for it that’s gone over my head, but I found it tedious and a bit “ooh aren’t I different and unusual”.

My friend gave me The Mercy Step and I started it last night, but gave up after 20 pages. Thought it was really naff and badly written, and just couldn't get into it

Books I wish I had given up on - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas 🙄 dear god, such drivel

I loved Wolf Hall and Milkman though 😁

An Infinite Jest. Just loathed the main character.
Wolf Hall. That use of the present tense always bugs me.

Jude the Obscure! I only finished it because I couldnt believe how awful it was. Our English teacher at school told us about it because we were moaning about how crap the Mayor of Casterbridge was. He said the Times review of Jude was so scathing Hardy never wrote another novel. So thanks to the Times reviewer.
And I love mad victorian literature I even liked Jeckyl and Hyde, famously Stevenson's wife told him it was so bad he should throw it on the fire and never refer to it again. You have to have some sympathy with her imagine having to listen to him explaining the plot and the characters.

I loved it !
It's interesting how we are all so different when it comes to books.

The Goldfinch
I just didn't care.

To the people who hated Wolf Hall, I listened to the trilogy on Audible and they were utterly mesmerising. Perhaps the present tense works better as spoken word.?

Avid reader of most genres but could not get into with The Lovely Bones at all!

I can't read Harry Potter's at all but i really admire how her books have encouraged so many kids into reading.

I gave up on My Brilliant Friend too...so many friends were raving about it but I just couldn't get into it. I found out subsequently it is a bit of a marmite book....

I adored Theo of Golden though!

Orbital. Tedious overwritten unimaginative waffle.

Hamnet. I got half way through as I really love the subject but find her writing so over ornate it distracts me from the story.

And one recently, forget the name, about some arctic explorer time travelling to present day. I love timeslip novels but this seemed written by AI. It actually made me angry that any editor had allowed it into print in that state.

A gentleman in Moscow - I tried so hard but found it tedious.

Some of the books on here I have really loved, just evident of how different we all are and how you will never please everyone.

Only one page into this thread and 2 people have said 'Milkman' was hard to engage with.
That might explain why I recently found a pristine copy of it in a charity shop 😅 I'll give it a chance.

I'm trying to get back into reading and find the contrasting opinions on threads like this one interesting.

For those struggling with Middlemarch but wanting to finish it, my recommendation is watch the TV adaptation (with Rufus Sewell) first so you know who’s who (it’s very truncated) and then listen to the Audible book version narrated by Juliet Stevenson. Probably cheating and I’m sure there is some tutting, but I enjoyed it so much .

The secret history
what a load of bollocks

A Prayer for Owen Meaney. Nothing happens. It is just so tedious.

Wolf Hall. How can someone take a really interesting and exciting period of history and retell it in such a way I never want to hear about the Tudors again?

There are many more but these two stand out as I will never attempt to read them again.

Another vote for Cloud Atlas here!

And Wolf Hall cannot plough through it in either book or audio format! Haven’t tried the TV version yet 😂

The Road to Wigan Pier
The Picture of Dorian Grey
Crime & Punishment
Also started A Little Life then shelved it. I may try it again.
Read Yellowface but honestly, it was a slog. No idea why it got such praise. Ditto To Kill a Mockingbird.

How far did you get with Wigan Pier? I have read it several times, but the second half is like a different book compared with the first half.

@HorseandHeron some arctic explorer time travelling to present day. I love timeslip novels but this seemed written by AI.

This must be The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley - I did finish but have no idea why the TV rights were snapped up before publication.

I agree with this. I know that I would have given up on Middlemarch if I had tried reading it but I loved the audible version. I don't think an unabridged audio book is cheating - especially for a Victorian novel when books were often read aloud.

Edited to add: I would also recommend audio books for anyone struggling with Dickens (Bleak House was mentioned earlier in the thread). Martin Jarvis has narrated quite a few and he's brilliant. I enjoy reading Dickens but, for me, Martin Jarvis takes them to another level.

Practically every book described as genius, so all the literary nominees and winners- give me cosy books any day over the waffly books people admit they didn’t totally get!!! (Publishers are such evil geniuses!!)

Like others, I gave up on The Milkman. I was given it as a present, and the blurb sounded ok but I got really bored. Nice to see it mentioned on this thread as I thought it was just me.

I've given up on Gormenghast a few times. I want to like it and I appreciate the writing but always struggle to get into it.

The Midnight Library - sooo boring! 🥱

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
A more depressing book would be difficult to imagine
I read a synopsis to see if it was going to get any better - it wasn’t

I couldn't read the Milkman and gave up quickly.

I read all of Gormenghast when it was cult reading in 6th Form in the early 70s.