A disappointing book you couldn't finish.

[Gypsy Hack 10]

Mine was " The Da Vinci Code".I shouldnt have believed all the hype about it. The reviews of the film were awful, so I should have known better. Its one of those books which you think is going to be good and isnt.After reading a few chapters my eyes glazed over with boredom, and I put it down.

I read the first few chapters of my friend's copy (would never buy it myself, life's too short) and went to wash my hands in disgust for having even touched it.

 

That, a David Lodge novel called 'Thinks...' (very worthy, very dull), and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (she can't write, quite aside from her obscene philosophy) are the only books that come to mind. Although technically the Lodge novel was the only one that 'disappointed' me, the other two just confirmed my suspicions.

[pattricia 587]

I read the first few chapters of my friend's copy (would never buy it myself, life's too short) and went to wash my hands in disgust for having even touched it.

 

That, a David Lodge novel called 'Thinks...' (very worthy, very dull), and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (she can't write, quite aside from her obscene philosophy) are the only books that come to mind. Although technically the Lodge novel was the only one that 'disappointed' me, the other two just confirmed my suspicions.

 

However do they get them published then ? Im sure much superior novels are turned down.

[xircon 10]

Mine was " The Da Vinci Code".I shouldnt have believed all the hype about it. The reviews of the film were awful, so I should have known better. Its one of those books which you think is going to be good and isnt.After reading a few chapters my eyes glazed over with boredom, and I put it down.

 

Got to agree with you, it was total rubbish, I finished it cos I had run out of anything else to read on holiday last year, what a waste of a good tree.

 

I have tried to read "1917" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn twice.

 

Oh and all the books I was meant to read for O level english lit (and didn't!)

[Guest]

...David Lodge novel called 'Thinks...' (very worthy, very dull), ...

I agree, 'Thinks...' was very disappointing, especially as I'm ordinarily a huge fan of David Lodge (I loved 'Changing Places' and 'Small Word' particularly).

[Gypsy Hack 10]

However do they get them published then ? Im sure much superior novels are turned down.

Almost certainly that is true. One only has to look at some of the superior novels that are published, though, for a clue. Many do not do well, yet how much money have Dan Brown's publishers made out of him? Very few publishers have any motives other than to make the maximum amount of money possible, and thus will take the safe option - books they feel they can easily market - rather than take a risk on books of true quality. Those publishers with a certain amount of idealism (Arcadia springs to mind) don't tend to be as big.

 

Do not mistake this for literary snobbery, by the way. I enjoy a good, 'trashy' horror or thriller novel as much as the next person, but it's a pre-requisite that the author must be able to write. And Dan Brown can't write (in the words of Harlan Ellison) for sour owl poop.

 

As for the other two, Ayn Rand has always had a following amongst the ultra-free market philosophers, much more so in America than here. And David Lodge, well... some people like him, some don't. And I'm firmly in the latter camp, although I can kind of understand his appeal.

[Gypsy Hack 10]

I agree, 'Thinks...' was very disappointing, especially as I'm ordinarily a huge fan of David Lodge (I loved 'Changing Places' and 'Small Word' particularly).

Hmmm... another voice for Small Word. Perhaps I will give him another go at some point. I didn't 'hate' Thinks..., I just got a constant sensation of wading through a muddy swamp whilst reading it. I'll often persevere with novels like that, but at that time I had loads of other stuff to hand that I was itching to read and, well, I just couldn't be bothered.

[Guest]

Hmmm... another voice for Small Word. Perhaps I will give him another go at some point. I didn't 'hate' Thinks..., I just got a constant sensation of wading through a muddy swamp whilst reading it. I'll often persevere with novels like that, but at that time I had loads of other stuff to hand that I was itching to read and, well, I just couldn't be bothered.

I must admit to finding some of his latter work a little smug and self-indulgently navel-gazing (the aforementioned 'Thinks...' and 'Therapy', for example). I'd highly recommend 'Small World' though. The intricate interweaving of the various strands of the story, their convergence at the end, and the allusions to King Arthur and the Fisher King etc are wonderful. It's very funny too .

[Rushup 10]

Not a disappointing book as such, but I just can't get my head around J G Ballard's 'The Atrocity Exhibition'.

 

Perhaps I should stop drinking unleaded petrol.

[SarahD 10]

Not a disappointing book as such, but I just can't get my head around J G Ballard's 'The Atrocity Exhibition'.

 

Perhaps I should stop drinking unleaded petrol.

 

Oh, I tried reading that a few years ago and remember being extremely confused.

 

I recently read Palahnuik - Haunting and hated it, before that I remember starting Martin Amis - London Fields and thinking it was tosh.

[Giraffe77 10]

Bought this novel about 2 years ago and was disappointed. Strangely, it was by one of my favourite writers, Jamaica Kincaid. Not to everyone's taste, but I find her fascinating- has anybody out there read A Small Place? (one of the most thought provoking and engaging things I have read).

Mr Potter, on the other hand, had no interest, it was quite a slow book. But I didn't really mind as all her other works were so strong.

[Falls 10]

I know that I'm late with this one.

 

There has been one or two of these but the stand-out by far was a book entitled:

 

The Writing Experiment - Stratergies for Innovative Creative Writing.

 

By Hazel Smith (An Australian Academic)

 

I have made at least thee attempts to read this book and finally gave up. It was as dry as the Australian Outback.

 

Don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against Australians, but I have a healthy skepticism where academics are concerned.

 

Would I recommend it? Absolutely - Particularly if you suffer from insomnia. You will be asleep in no time.

 

Regards

[evildrneil 14]

When going through a goth phase I tried De Sade's 120 days of Sodom which was absolutely unreadable both for it's content (coprophilia really isn't my bag!) and prose which was poor and turgid in the extreme. I think I may have managed to have got to about page 30ish which was a pretty heroic effort!