Books you are glad that you persevered with

[muddleduck]

Another thread made me wonder about this.

I very rarely give up on a book that I've started with but it is usually the case that if I hate it at the start I carry on hating it all the way.

The only exception I can think of is Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep" which I was forced to read for a book club. I nearly gave up on it several times but had to concede that it is actually well worth reading.

I hated Captain Corelli's Mandolin too.

I agree about On Chesil Beach. I force my way through it on the basis that my Mum really wanted me to read it and it was short so wouldn't take too much time. It was pants. My Mum raves about Ian MacEwan, she says he really understands how women think.

I really struggled with the first part of Life of Pi but the ending was so good it has become one of my favourites

I am thinking Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco. It starts off slightly dull historical memoir, then there is an murder mystery, some politics, some heavy duty metaphysics and an amazingly dramatic ending which I will try not to wreck. The book hasn't got Sean Connery in it, but it has everything else.

Agree v much on the F Scott Fitzgerald-his are books too which improve the 2nd or 3rd reading...

Birdsong.
Average to slow start but as soon as it gets to the actual battlefields it's gripping.

You've got me thinking on the F Scott Fitzgerald. I read Tender is the Night years ago, was really looking forward to it and felt v disappointed by it. Perhaps should dust it off and have another read.

I really liked Middlemarch, but I quite like that epic but no much going on type of book.

I gave up on Vanity Fair though, should I try again?

And War and Peace, I couldn't get past all the similar names, I had no idea what was going on. Still not finished it. Am midway through the Book Thief, it's not 'unputdownable' but ok.

I liked Captin Corelli in the end. There are loads here I haven't even tried.

I gave up on Obama's Audacity of Hope, very dry and hard to follow as a Brit, no cohension IMHO.

Vanity Fair is well worth it; Middlemarch isn't.

Sorry - misread: you liked MM; ignore me!

No, luckylady74 - the book you mention is definitely by Eric Newby. I can't remember the title either. I quite liked the beginning tho', I was amused by the fact they went to Wales to prepare for climbing the Himalayas!

Mine has already been mentioned: A Hundred Years of Solitude (nearly called it "A Thousand Years..."!), absolutely hooked by two thirds through. Keep giving up on "A Fine Balance". Every time they seem to be getting back on their feet, something that's not at all their fault sends them back down into the gutter. I think it offends my sense of fairness! Still haven't given it to Oxfam yet, though, so will take it on holiday.

the children's book by as byatt - hundreds of characters and virtually no dialogue. i didn't get what she was doing with the historical details for quite a while. the final chapters are haunting.

Rebecca
Foucoult's Pendulum

Both took a few goes to get past the first chapters. Love them both

Eric Newby "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush", sorry, it was bugging me, so I've just looked it up on Amazon.

Oscar and Lucinda

The Catcher in The Rye, not very long or abstruse at all but initially didn't think I'd fare well with the style.

That is until a certain point quite near the end when everything slotted into place, I found it genuinely moving and memorable

Agree with "The Blind Assassin", had forgotten about that one.

I struggled with Henry James for years, till I finally managed to read Portrait of a Lady, which was just utterly brilliant.

I hated the first 60-odd pages of Birdsong, and nearly gave up. But then it suddenly turned into one of the best books I've ever read...

MrsDanvers I'm ready Catcher in The Rye at the moment and have got up to the part where he has gone home and woken his sister.

I'm yet to actually understand what the eff it's all about, there's no storyline to it whatsover, all that I'm getting is a bloke that a bit bonkers says 'an all' and 'goddam ' alot and is obsessed with where the ducks go when the pond freezes over!

There can't be a story to it now. I'm nearly finished goddam

shinyshoes psml, I felt a bit like that too at first. There is a lot of 'goddam' 'an all' 'phonies' etc...

I'll tell you what bit did it for me, but don't read on if you haven't finished, as it may ruin it for you (had to revisit the book as I couln't remember it exactly)

In Chapter 22 Phoebe asks him what he wants to do with his life and he tells her he wants to be 'the catcher in the rye' he gets it from a lyric he has misheard, but he thinks of it as a field of rye perched high on a cliff with children playing in it. He'd like to be the one that catches the children near the cliff edge to save them from falling off. So, suddenly it seemed that all this time he's been in a kind of depression probably triggered by his brother's death & the anxieties of coming-of-age that's lead him to drop out of school, drink, hire a prostitue etc. But underneath it all is a really nice guy who is suffering and wants to try and help other kids from coming to harm and/or facing the harsh realities of adult life.

Wow, didn't mean to write an essay but that was the bit that made sense of the rest for me.

Jane Eyre aged 15

I read Pride & Prejudice for English and loved it, then my teacher suggested I read JE.

In my confused mind I thought it would be similar to P&P! Obviously not & the beginning was a bit too depressing, nearly gave up but am so glad i didn't as it replaced P&P as my favorite book ever

Don't be MrsD, you've inspired me to read CITR now