Which books did you initially struggle with...

[singsinthebath]

.... but eventually came to love.

For me it was Captain Correlli and The Time Traveller's Wife - several false starts but once I got past a certain point I was hooked.

I havent tackled the South American Trilogy yet... but it is in the grand plan are they as good?

they are, but did get a bit bored towards the end. A bit too much of a muchness.

One I've never mastered is Moll Flanders - just can't get into it at all. The Mill on the Floss is also difficult I agree.

It took me a while to get into The Return of the Native as well, but generally I love Thomas Hardy.

the foosa - david mitchell's cloud atlas took me a few attempts to get into, but i eventually love, love, loved it, however i still haven't got past the first third of black swan green.
the post birthday world by lionel shriver. hated it after about 8 chapters.

the da vinci code

pride and prejudice

the handmaids tale - when i got into that i couldn't believe i had ever found it difficult!!!

cc mandolin. hve tried several times and just can't.

AND we had a reading from it at our wedding

Mrs Dalloway.

Hated it for ages but had to plough through it for A-level English Literature/Language. Ended up begrudgingly liking it (though not loving it!).

OTOH, I loved Captain Corelli's Mandolin right from the first few pages!

ooh, mansfield park, read it for a-level one chapter per week and hated it. re read it for my degree and loved it!

Ahhhh the Handmaids Tale. One of the books which formed my character. That and the SheDevil by Fay Weldon. See I am feminist through and though

BTW I can't belly eve that FW is in her 80'sish. I still think of her as about 40