Most hated 'classic' novel you've actually read

[henrietta]

I've given Huck Finn a go three time - count 'em, three - due to the unflinching belief of English teachers and professors that this is a Great American Novel. I still hate it.

Minor, related rant - is there anything less convincing than Twain's scene where Huck's dressed like a girl and the old lady catches him because when she tosses him something, he puts his knees together to catch it? I spent most of my childhood wearing skirts (Catholic school) and it takes more than clothing to override the human instinct to slam your legs together if you want to catch something on your lap. Twain's an idiot.

 

[Shade]

Twain's an idiot.

That's a bit harsh!

My own hated classic: Wuthering Frigging Heights.

 

[Relay]

My most hated classic novel is the swedish classic Doctor Glas in english it would be doctor glass written by Hjalmar Söderberg,

from wikipedia

Hjalmar Söderberg (July 2, 1869 - October 14, 1941) was a Swedish novelist and playwright. His works include Förvillelser (1905), Den Allvarsamma Leken (1912), Martins Bircks Ungdom (1901) and Doktor Glas (1905).

Söderberg is greatly appreciated in his native country, and is sometimes considered to be the equal of August Strindberg, Sweden's national bard. A recent new translation of Doktor Glas into English, as Doctor Glas, and with an introduction by Margaret Atwood, has meant a soar in his popularity in the Anglo-Saxon literary world.

We had to read this shit in school once and i hated the book from the page 1.

 

[abecedarian]

I hated Babbit by Sinclair Lewis.

 

[venusunfolding]

The Great Gatsby. I had to read it twice, once in high school then again in college. i hated it equally both times.

 

[abecedarian]

The Great Gatsby. I had to read it twice, once in high school then again in college. i hated it equally both times.

I hated this one too. Dull and depressing all in one little book

 

[tartan_skirt]

My own hated classic: Wuthering Frigging Heights.

Same here! One of only three books I've given up on.

 

[Halo]

Same here too! One of only two books I've ever given up on.

 

[CattiGuen]

I've said it once and I will say it again...and again and again.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!!!

...more like Sh** and Prejudice!!

 

[venusunfolding]

i just finished it, so I'll have to add Fahrenheit 451. blech!

 

[jaybe]

why do you read books you don't enjoy? How can you force yourself to finish them?

I don't understand.

My worst is 'Tale of Two Cities'. Again, like a lot of you - SCHOOL !

However, I still refused to read it. I did try though...I couldn't.

 

[Billy]

I couldn't finish Tess of the D'urbevilles (sp?).

I tried to read it when I was quite young and had no idea what was going on in it, so gave up. I have since been told what a great novel it is and how I should try to read it again, but I really don't want to go back to it only to discover that I still can't figure out what's going on and therefore feel like an idiot.

 

[abecedarian]

I couldn't finish Tess of the D'urbevilles (sp?).

I tried to read it when I was quite young and had no idea what was going on in it, so gave up. I have since been told what a great novel it is and how I should try to read it again, but I really don't want to go back to it only to discover that I still can't figure out what's going on and therefore feel like an idiot.

Tess left me with a bad taste too. I wanted to clobber her stupid husband...

 

[steffee]

I agree with Pride and Prejudice and Huckleberry Fin, neither of which I've finished though. I've hated all Dickens except A Tale of Two Cities, which I thought was ok, and actually did finish.

Also hate Emma, though forced myself to finish it due to promises from everyone that it was "fantastic". Hmmm, yeah.

 

[BenjaminDixon]

It has to be Gone With The Wind. Terribly long, dragged-out naivety with poor description and a boring plot.

 

[venusunfolding]

why do you read books you don't enjoy? How can you force yourself to finish them?

I don't understand.

for me it depends on how long the book is, how far into it I am, and what book it is. Fahrenheit 451 is only like 160 pages, and I only have 40 left when it really started bugging me, but it was only 40 pages so I finished it.

When I tried to read Atlas Shrugged I gave up at 110 because I couldn't get into it at all.

I guess there's always that hope that if you keep reading the book will get better.

 

[dovener's cape]

i hated moby dick, there's too much detail that doesn't have to do with the actual plot. is it interesting to compair the books, engravings, tales, heads of the whales? yes, but it didn't enhance the story. plus it gets through all of that detail and moby dick's attack on the ship/ ahab's death is done in about two pages. it's the most important part of the book and there is no detail.

 

[henrietta]

Why finish a book you hate? Otherwise, how will you be able to fully loathe it? Plus, of course, you get less chance to badmouth it to others if you have to be careful not to let it slip that you never actually finished it (because, frankly, it diminishes your credibility if your bored friends get wind of the fact you quit on page 22)

 

[KristoCat]

I hated As I Lay Dyingby Faulkner. Your mother is a fish?!? No, you're just crazy, kid!!! I felt that Faulkner was being deliberately obscure, but without any higher purpose for the obscurity. It was highly annoying. And depressing as hell.

 

[veggiedog]

I'm not especially well-read in classic literature, but I also think The Great Gatsby is overrated. Gatsby was not great. He was annoying. Half the characters were empty-headed buffoons who served no purpose but to be stupid and make huge mistakes that ended up destroying their lives. There was really no message (if there was, then I missed it like the deserts miss the rain). It was unbearably tedious, despite it's nonexistent length. I'm sorry to Fitzgerald fans out there, but I was about ready to pull a Montag and BURN THIS BOOK. I just grew so frustrated with it. Maybe I was too young, and should go back to it when I'm a little older.

I thought Pride and Prejudice was also a bit of a letdown. I didn't hate it, but despite the positive message of girl-power, I found to be Elizabeth petty and more of a disgrace to women than an idol. She was portrayed as stubborn and egotistical, and rather than showing the caculated thought process of intelligent women, she jumped to absurd conclusions for seemingly no other prupose than to entertain herself. And then she started to fall in love with Darcy because she thought he had a nice house! I was upset by the ending. The recent movie was even worse.