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Books everyone loves but I hate - controversial opinions
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Let's get real about books everyone loves but I hate. I'm tired of pretending to like books just because they're popular or critically acclaimed.
There's a certain literary masterpiece that's taught in every literature class, and I have to say, I think it's one of the most boring things I've ever read. The prose is beautiful, sure, but the story goes nowhere and the characters are insufferable. Yet people talk about it like it's the pinnacle of human achievement.
What are your controversial book opinions? Books that you're supposed to love but actually can't stand? I'm particularly interested in literary masterpieces I didn't understand or classic books I didn't enjoy.
Let's have an honest discussion without worrying about being "wrong" about books.
I love this topic! Books everyone loves but I hate is something I think about often. For me, the big one is that classic American novel about a wealthy family and their problems. It's taught in every high school, but I found it tedious and the characters completely unrelatable.
The writing is beautiful, I'll give it that. But beautiful writing doesn't make up for a boring story with unlikeable characters. I think sometimes we confuse well-written" with "enjoyable to read."
Another one is that popular contemporary novel about immigration and family. Everyone praised it for being "important" and "timely," but the characters felt like stereotypes and the plot was predictable. Important topics deserve better treatment than this.
I have to say, I agree with you about that literary masterpiece. I read it in college and hated every minute of it. The prose was beautiful in small doses, but over hundreds of pages it became exhausting. The characters were all terrible people, and not in an interesting way - just in a boring, miserable way.
What really frustrates me is when people act like not liking certain books means you're not intelligent enough to get" them. I "get" them just fine - I just think they're bad books.
I have similar feelings about several modern classics. There's one in particular from the mid-20th century that's always on "must read" lists, but I found it pretentious and self-indulgent. The author seemed more interested in showing off than telling a story.
My controversial book opinion: I hate that beloved children's classic that everyone reads to their kids. The messages are problematic, the characters are flat, and the writing is just not very good. Yet it's treated as this sacred text that you're not allowed to criticize.
I think sometimes nostalgia blinds us to a book's actual quality. Just because something was beloved in childhood doesn't mean it holds up as an adult, or that it was ever actually good.
Another one for me is that popular self-help book that's been on bestseller lists for years. The advice is either obvious or dangerous, and the writing is terrible. Yet people treat it like gospel. I don't understand the appeal at all.
As a literature professor, I feel like I'm committing heresy by saying this, but: Ulysses. Yes, it's innovative. Yes, it's influential. Yes, it's brilliant in places. But is it enjoyable to read? For most people, no. It's a slog.
The problem with literary masterpieces I didn't understand is that they're often taught as if understanding them is a test of intelligence. If you don't get" Ulysses or Finnegans Wake, you must not be smart enough. But maybe they're just not very accessible, and that's okay.
I think we need to separate literary analysis from reading for pleasure. You can appreciate a book's historical significance and technical innovation while still acknowledging that it's not an enjoyable reading experience.
My controversial opinion: I think that popular contemporary literary fiction author is overrated. Their books all follow the same formula: unlikeable upper-middle-class characters having existential crises, beautiful but empty prose, and a vague sense of profundity that never actually materializes into anything meaningful.
Yet they win all the awards and get rave reviews. I've tried multiple books by this author, hoping that maybe I just started with the wrong one, but they all leave me cold.
What bothers me is that criticizing this author feels like breaking some unspoken rule in literary circles. It's like they've achieved this untouchable status where any negative opinion is treated as evidence that you don't get" literary fiction.
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