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A Person 
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 Posted: July 28 2013 at 21:31 |
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I tried and failed to read Moby Dick back in middle school, I remember liking the book but it was too much for me to read at the time I guess.
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The Dark Elf
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Posted: July 28 2013 at 22:37 |
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Speaking of Moby-Dick and famous books that were disappointments, I am reminded of a more recent book alleged to be a modern fantasy classic by many critics that was reminiscent of Moby-Dick in regards to its anecdotes, scholarly asides and historical (albeit fantastical) chronicling, that being Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Imagine if Charles Dickens wrote in the style of Melville about real magic in an alternate early 19th century Britain. It sounded promising.
The first few chapters were engrossing, but it became dry and humorless, then mind-bogglingly tedious, and finally died with a whimper in one of the most utterly insipid endings I think I've ever read (Stephen King's IT comes to mind as another). I am still angry at myself for reading the whole dreary 782 pages.
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...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...
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thellama73
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Posted: July 28 2013 at 22:54 |
 The Dark Elf wrote:
Speaking of Moby-Dick and famous books that were disappointments, I am reminded of a more recent book alleged to be a modern fantasy classic by many critics that was reminiscent of Moby-Dick in regards to its anecdotes, scholarly asides and historical (albeit fantastical) chronicling, that being Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Imagine if Charles Dickens wrote in the style of Melville about real magic in an alternate early 19th century Britain. It sounded promising.
The first few chapters were engrossing, but it became dry and humorless, then mind-bogglingly tedious, and finally died with a whimper in one of the most utterly insipid endings I think I've ever read (Stephen King's IT comes to mind as another). I am still angry at myself for reading the whole dreary 782 pages.
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I know what you mean, but I still liked it overall.
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Dean
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Posted: July 29 2013 at 04:38 |
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Naked Lunch - WiIl.i.am S Burr.o.ughs - Got it, read it, "got it", didn't find it obscene (shocking in parts yes, and deliberately so, so that's okay, but not obscene), nor was it incoherent overly (until towards end) - non-linear narratives are not a problem - they're never going to be great literature, but they don't make a bad book good or a good book bad, bad writing does that, and there is plenty of that in Naked Lunch. Burro.ughs could paint a static picture with words like an impressionist artist, but dynamics and dialogue were not his forte (IMO).
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What?
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Snow Dog
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Posted: July 29 2013 at 05:17 |
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Another one occurred to me, Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Rather underwhelming and definitely disappointing.
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Guldbamsen
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Posted: July 29 2013 at 05:42 |
Herman Hesse's Glasperlenspiel (Glass Bead Game) springs to mind. I have since then read through it all, and found my initial disappointment somewhat uncalled for. I think it's the slow agonising start of it that under-whelmed me.
American Psycho. Damn what a mess! I get the book's premise, and find it scarily apt and clever, but having to wade through tirades upon tirades of over-long clothing descriptions, internal arguments over the design of business-cards and generally just unnecessary observations - it's just too much for me. I understand that this writing "style" is all important in relegating the American psycho as something of a distant robotic creature -far removed from emotion and morality, but that doesn't make it any less boring though...
Oh and I just read the Great Gatsby and absolutely adored it  |
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“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
- Douglas Adams
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Guldbamsen
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Posted: July 29 2013 at 05:43 |
Dean wrote:
Naked Lunch - WiIl.i.am S Burr.o.ughs - Got it, read it, "got it", didn't find it obscene (shocking in parts yes, and deliberately so, so that's okay, but not obscene), nor was it incoherent overly (until towards end) - non-linear narratives are not a problem - they're never going to be great literature, but they don't make a bad book good or a good book bad, bad writing does that, and there is plenty of that in Naked Lunch. Burro.ughs could paint a static picture with words like an impressionist artist, but dynamics and dialogue were not his forte (IMO). |
Blasphemy!
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“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
- Douglas Adams
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moshkito
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Posted: July 29 2013 at 08:48 |
Snow Dog wrote:
Another one occurred to me, Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Rather underwhelming and definitely disappointing. |
Hahahaha! Love that!
Being a foreigner and not speaking any English at one time, meant I could not grok a lot of things for a long time!
Guess which book I ended up reading?
I enjoyed it, because it is so similar to my experience with music and the arts's fight for 40 years! It's only in the past 5 to 10 years that it stopped being a fight and there is more acceptance than ever, and a place like PA makes it appear so, and SHOWS it! People like you are important in that process!
When I got done reading it, I think that the only grok'ing there was to make, was a total satire on the 50's teasing in the media with stars and such. You took those images and you blended them well, and you turned sex inside out ... which later the likes of Playboy and such finally came to the fore.
I really think that the whole book was a massive finger to the social fabric and hippocrisy of it all! Sex was just as good an idea as anything else! And is one of the main obstacles to many folks in the story! But don't tell me that the folks that destroyed the Utopia are any different than the Overlords!
Edited by moshkito - July 29 2013 at 13:53
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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What famous book were you most disappointed by?
