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Discussion: Sometimes the majority is wrong ver. Books

Finder said:
^Werd.

I've tried to read Hemingway any number of times. The man just cannot resolve a story (ie. Old Man and the Sea).
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Dude, I used to respect you! How can you say that? All his books resolve.

The protagonist dies. Or the baby dies. Or the bull dies. But basically most people die. And it was raining. But they were very machismo. Everyone else could tell. They respected that.

I'm going to interpret the question as books that are supposed to be classics but that I find unreadable:

Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowry - tried it twice, gave up both times. Ugh. Impenetrable.

Jane Austen bores me, in general (I'd rather watch Clueless).

I used to love Tolkein and I still do but his writing is pretty damn heavy.

And sorry to AmorRoark because I think I remember you're a fan, but I think Ayn Rand is an awful writer. "dialogue" that is 10+ pages of someone talking non-stop? Not for me, thanks.

I loved Isaac Asimov when I was a teenager, I re-read him recently, and honestly - the guy cannot write for toffee. Interesting ideas, but as a writer, no....
 
Yeah, Simon, but like in "Old Man" he kind of just wanders off, you don't know what happened to him...I dunno, I just find that technique overused. Please don't lose respect for me just because I'm not a Hemingway fan. ;)

I'm in Hermann Hesse lately! Does that help my reputation? Validate me! Validate me! :D
 
Finder said:
Yeah, Simon, but like in "Old Man" he kind of just wanders off, you don't know what happened to him...I dunno, I just find that technique overused. Please don't lose respect for me just because I'm not a Hemingway fan. ;)
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Well you're entitled to your opinion. But life doesn't have definitive endings and beginnings. Life isn't an open and shut case. Hemingway writes about life.

There's really not much more to it than that I guess. You either appreciate it or you don't.
 
yea. it's like, i can say that i hate steinbeck's descriptive style, or even come up with logical criticisms of his work, but i will never be considered as brilliant a writer as he was to most people.
 
Finder said:
Yeah, Simon, but like in "Old Man" he kind of just wanders off, you don't know what happened to him...I dunno, I just find that technique overused. Please don't lose respect for me just because I'm not a Hemingway fan. ;)

I'm in Hermann Hesse lately! Does that help my reputation? Validate me! Validate me! :D
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i thought the point of the story was that the most important thing was that he had faced a challenge and proved himself. He had battled the sea and his own demons alone and triumphed, and realized after it all that real victory and power lay within, and that the peace that he had been searching for in his old age was finally his, because he had faced the world and held his ground. The important thing was the journey, not the destination. But i could be wrong. I am a Hemingway fan.......
 
Finder said:
Yeah, Simon, but like in "Old Man" he kind of just wanders off, you don't know what happened to him...I dunno, I just find that technique overused. Please don't lose respect for me just because I'm not a Hemingway fan. ;)

I'm in Hermann Hesse lately! Does that help my reputation? Validate me! Validate me! :D
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/me validates.

Actually, I haven't read 'Old Man' yet, so I can't argue with you on that one. Pick up "For Whom the Bell Tolls', it kicks ass...

I haven't even read Hesse myself, so you're way ahead of me on that one...
 
All dan brown books
I was pretty disappointed with Hemingway too, but as someone posted I can appreciate his clipped style of prose
 
All dan brown books
I was pretty disappointed with Hemingway too, but as someone posted I can appreciate his clipped style of prose
 
Australian author Matthew Reilly. His first few books I enjoyed, but then his writing style became so...amateurish...his last few books were just trite. I appreciate his background, the whole self-published author goes good. But he should maybe take a Writing 101 course just to freshen up.
 
What do you guys hate about Shakespeare?

I'm an admirer of Hemingway, Steinbeck and Faulkner, but I guess I didn't have them stuffed down my throat as may have been the case in US schools / colleges (correct me if I'm wrong?).

Definitely a fan of Herman Hesse - the likes of Siddhartha, Steppenwolf and The Glass Bead Game were key texts for me during my undergrad days of mind-expansion and discovery.

As for Dan Brown and Matthew Reilly, let's keep the discussion to works of literature shall we? ;) I have read The Da Vinci Code ("Oh but everyone is reading it so it must be great!") and a Reilly short story. You couldn't pay me to read anything else by either of them.

I haven't been able to get into Paulo Coelho, although I haven't read The Alchemist, so maybe I should defer my judgement?
 
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