I have never heard anyone whose opinion I trust have a single good word to say about Ayn Rand or anything she wrote.
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I have never heard anyone whose opinion I trust have a single good word to say about Ayn Rand or anything she wrote.
Admittedly, I have read only less controversial works of Rand, We, the Living and Anthem but I found her work juvenile at best. One of these days, I will go ahead and read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged as well but I often wonder whether she's given more prominence and credit than she deserves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lykren
Had these works were written, say, by an American author, do you think they would have been received in the same manner?
11 Minutes by Coehlo... A girl I was seeing recommended it. It's been like 3 years, to this day, still the worst book I have read.
Oh, it does! Believe me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eiseabhal
The philosophy behind it is juvenile, and the writing is abysmal. Greed is good, that's all you need to know about it really.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marbles
I'm not going to say give it a miss, but trust me it's an awful novel.
It's still Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Anything by Coehlo, I've read 3 of his books, Veronika Decides To Die, The Alchemist and 11 Minutes, 11 Minutes being the worst of the three.
Why do you do that to yourself? After reading 2/3rds of The Alchemist I knew I was done with Coehlo.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAlertDriver
I'm probably not going to read it in the coming years. I value LitNet members suggestions and opinions. Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Poetaster
The Alchemist was the last one I read before completely giving up on him. I guess at the time I pushed myself to read his works since he's such a celebrated author around here (where I live) so I wanted to see what fuss was about.Quote:
Originally Posted by lichtrausch
Same here. I am truly at a loss that why his sugar-coated, cliche-ridden, pseudo-philosophical and psychological works are proving to be so popular.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAlertDriver
Haha sugar-coated and cliche-ridden indeed. His writing is straight forward with a simple inspirational message underneath. I think he appeals to people who are just starting to get into literature. If that's the case I guess he'll serve as an introduction then they'll move on to bigger things.
Heart of darkness. Bored me, and I found Conrad's style very difficult to get into sync with. I remember having to adjust to Melville, but then really enjoying it in Moby Dick.
Catch-22. Jeez, not funny at all in my opinion. Hated Yossarian.
The Last of the Mohicans. If you've seen the movie with Daniel Day Lewis, then don't bother with the book, as the movie is so far above it as to make any kind of comparison unfair to the movie.
Probably the "great American novel" named The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain.
It's abysmal, and vastly overrated. I can't see how anyone ever made it past page one, but I know I sure tried. When I made it to the end, I realized that the only thing I had gotten out of reading it was a hatred for Huck Finn.
I will try Tom Sawyer, eventually.
Poetaster, you have a companion in masochism!Quote:
Originally Posted by WriterMan
The worst book I've ever read would be a toss-up between Heller's "Catch 22" and "Our Mutual Friend" by Dickens. Joyce's "Portrait" was heavy going too and, oh, so was Richardson's "Pamela". You can see that I studied these for Literature at University, but that was over 25 years ago.
"Catch 22" just wasn't funny; or, it was funny in a Mel Brooks way - i.e. HE thinks it's funny!!
Somewhere on this thread I think I've listed the worst book that I've read but I must admit that Catch 22 was a complete waste of time. Not only was it unfunny but it seemed to be making a comment about the futility of war in a juvenile sort of way and saying: 'Look how hip I am'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarabande
I have to say, the company keeps me going, haha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lykren
I thought the Milo Minderbender bits were good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarabande
I just finished reading (and reviewing) Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son. What a waste of time, but I couldn't bring myself to stop in the middle of it. I had to finish to see if it redeemed itself. It did not. Two things that make a great story great were completely void - no interesting characters or captivating plot. Koontz simply made Victor Helios (Dr. Frankenstein) way too smart (he had a machine designed for almost everything - impede aging, accelerate birth, download information directly to the brain, making an army of clones) and bastardized Mary Shelley's characters by placing them two hundred years into the future. If you haven't read the novel, don't even think about it! :) Koontz is very facile in his use of words, but his storytelling needs some serious modulating.
Shirley by Bronte, I just didin't like it, don't know why just don't.
Un-****ing-believable. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is incredible. Maybe it's because you were forced to study it that you didn't enjoy it, I find that sometimes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarabande
At the moment it's a tie with the not funny Catch-22 and the despair inducing Blood Meridian.
I've never read Blood Meridian, but a friend of mine did. The only book I've read by Cormac McCarthy is The Road, which I found to be very good, despite its appalling lack of character development.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vota
Is character development an essential element of all works of literature? I would think that's rather like criticizing Van Gogh's Starry Night for its appalling lack of red.
I found The Road's negative anthropology believable and disturbing, and its insistence on morality as a choice rather than a circumstance enormously relevant and deeply moving. I wouldn't describe its lack of character development as appalling; in fact, I don't even see it as a flaw in what is at heart a parable. The father and the boy are constants to one another. The world changes but humankind does not. Nor do they.
There is a discussion of The Road (and a number of McCarthy's other novels) on this thread:
http://www.online-literature.com/for...t=New+classics
Feel free (if you like) to join in. :)
i've had my share of bad books over the years but i'd say that my worst for 2014 was Kafka on the Shore
If you're replying to my comment, I'm just stating my opinion. Character development, most times, is a pretty essential part to make a great book, but again, that's just my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by stlukesguild