Loved this and reminded me of how I cannot help but disagree with some many rave reviews. I could not finish Absurdistan but absolutely loved his latest piece about botched circumcision in the new yorker. Maybe him sad and in pain is funnier because he has to tone done the joke-every-second writing that I cannot stand. Also, I found Nickel Boys a much more engaging story that underground railroad. For my own list, I'd add Deacon King Kong, On Earth we were briefly gorgeous, and the list goes on...
I remember sitting down to read Everything Is Illuminated because it was THE book to read and not being able to get through more than ten pages. There are many books I end up putting down just because they're not my thing, but I found this one to be completely, utterly unreadable. My brain refused to engage with it. My current most overrated is Normal People. I might have liked it more without the hype, but by the time I made my way to it it was too late. Just . . . what a couple of drips. It wasn't badly written in any way and my experience wasn't overly unpleasant reading it. But I kept sitting there thinking, "really? this?" It also suffered from my comparison to a much more obscure Irish novel called Tender by Belinda McKeon, which sort of starts the same way but then takes off in a much different and much more emotional and dramatic direction.
Yes, me too! This was a long time ago, but I actually stopped reading it when I was more than halfway through. And this was back when I used to slog to the end of everything, no matter what. I found it so dull, and I also found the characterization of the female scholar so precious and annoying. (I think lots of references to her beautiful, impossibly long golden hair, if I remember correctly?)
Yay! Reading failure confessions, it feels good to hear this, I also couldn’t get through Possession! My other book I didn’t feel smart enough to finish was The Name Of the Rose, though it seemed really interesting for a while. Trying to avoid hype on a book, I fall for awards and the Natl Book/Pulitzer/Booker can lead me to some duds - The God Of Small Things stands out s as overrated in that way. What you wrote, Meg, about “literary fiction” is really interesting. The moniker has helped me before, but it is way more subjectively nebulous than other genre expectations. I’m reading Less now, which I bought used with no other knowledge but an award. It’s not really for me, but I’m giving it a shot. But I also wonder about my expectations. Would I have been more open to it if it was a hyped gay romantic/comedy? (not a romcom with its own movie expectations). On the other hand I read an amazing nonfiction book called The Swerve about Classical Greek revivalism during the Renaissance only because it had the award sticker on the front. No way I would’ve picked it up any other way.
What's interesting here is that two of the books listed here (Absurdistan and Fates & Furies) are by authors that had other, excellent books. I absolutely LOVED Super Sad True Love Story and Arcadia, but both of these novels (one a predecessor and the other a successor, I believe) left me relatively cold. For my submission of most overrated novels, I'd like to submit the following: A la recherche du temps perdu (coming out swinging with the big guns here I know), Infinite Jest (I've still got 150 pages to go, but I think I'm gonna call it), A Brief History of Seven Killings (I couldn't even finish it. One of the very few books I've quit on, after like 500 pages no less. Technically, the variety of writing styles was impressive. But it just seemed like empty linguistic fireworks to me).
I love David Foster Wallace and Infinite Jest, but I get the takedowns of him/it in general and specifically as a weapon of literary mansplaining. Like Meg you mentioned in your post about enjoying contrarian critique of things I like, it can enhance my own experience and doesn’t always just pop the balloon of my enthusiasm. My love for Tom Wolfe, Oscar Wao, Vonnegut & Something Happened by Joseph Heller have all been enhanced with rereading, seeing the faults, being a more advanced age and taking in some pointed criticism. As far as takedowns I’ve enjoyed it, of a sort, is the last Charlie Kaufman movie “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” I didn’t like the movie really, but the main character has a extended retort to Jesse Plemons’s character’s academic condescension about DFW that was really good. The whole scene is a confusing car ride argument that includes Jessie Buckley’s unnamed protagonist quoting Pauline Kael at length even impersonating her accent? I don’t know, it got the point across. Add literary chauvinist snob to the long list of Jesse Plemons’ villains. He’s very good at the baddies, but really, enough Jesse Plemons.
I had the opposite experience to Sarah about Absurdistan in that it was so hyped I wanted read it, but didn’t because I got Super Sad True Love Story as a gift and disliked it so I much I couldn’t imagine reading another Shteyngart. I haven’t read any of the overrated books you wrote about, but now I can avoid those. It also reinforces a reading list tactic of mine: wait it out. Initial hype/awards can be unwarranted PR and since I can’t keep up, waiting to hear some personal friend takes can help weed out the worthy. Give it a moment and Dan tells me how good Goon Squad is and it turns out to be one of my favorite books of the last decade.
So funny, the reason I finally got around to reading infinite jest was because I was SO SICK of the literary mansplaining around it. I wanted to be able to make my own judgment about the book rather than judge it by its readers, so to speak. I’m glad I’m reading it and obviously DFW was a very clever person with a love for language. But reading it now as an adult, I see it as an extended exercise in adolescent (and very male) navel gazing. Look how clever I am! The whole thing screams to me. I could see having my world radically changed by this book if I actually read it when it came out - but now, when the hype is long died down, it seems too precious to me.
Yes, there's so much love for Lauren Groff out there, also her short stories. I think every author is allowed their dud, I'm just sad I read the wrong one first! I think I read the wrong Jonathan Lethem first too - Chronic City, which I found super boring, when obviously Motherless Brooklyn or Fortress of Solitude is obviously the way to go, but I'm just put off by him.
So no Proust for you! Big guns, indeed. I'm curious why. I haven't read A la recherche... but feel like I'm saving it for some particular season in my life, like you have to give yourself over to it for three months or something.
Loved this and reminded me of how I cannot help but disagree with some many rave reviews. I could not finish Absurdistan but absolutely loved his latest piece about botched circumcision in the new yorker. Maybe him sad and in pain is funnier because he has to tone done the joke-every-second writing that I cannot stand. Also, I found Nickel Boys a much more engaging story that underground railroad. For my own list, I'd add Deacon King Kong, On Earth we were briefly gorgeous, and the list goes on...
I remember sitting down to read Everything Is Illuminated because it was THE book to read and not being able to get through more than ten pages. There are many books I end up putting down just because they're not my thing, but I found this one to be completely, utterly unreadable. My brain refused to engage with it. My current most overrated is Normal People. I might have liked it more without the hype, but by the time I made my way to it it was too late. Just . . . what a couple of drips. It wasn't badly written in any way and my experience wasn't overly unpleasant reading it. But I kept sitting there thinking, "really? this?" It also suffered from my comparison to a much more obscure Irish novel called Tender by Belinda McKeon, which sort of starts the same way but then takes off in a much different and much more emotional and dramatic direction.
LOL at couple of drips!
Oh another one: was unable to get into possession by a.s. Byatt, felt so dumb but why is it good ???
Yes, me too! This was a long time ago, but I actually stopped reading it when I was more than halfway through. And this was back when I used to slog to the end of everything, no matter what. I found it so dull, and I also found the characterization of the female scholar so precious and annoying. (I think lots of references to her beautiful, impossibly long golden hair, if I remember correctly?)
Yay! Reading failure confessions, it feels good to hear this, I also couldn’t get through Possession! My other book I didn’t feel smart enough to finish was The Name Of the Rose, though it seemed really interesting for a while. Trying to avoid hype on a book, I fall for awards and the Natl Book/Pulitzer/Booker can lead me to some duds - The God Of Small Things stands out s as overrated in that way. What you wrote, Meg, about “literary fiction” is really interesting. The moniker has helped me before, but it is way more subjectively nebulous than other genre expectations. I’m reading Less now, which I bought used with no other knowledge but an award. It’s not really for me, but I’m giving it a shot. But I also wonder about my expectations. Would I have been more open to it if it was a hyped gay romantic/comedy? (not a romcom with its own movie expectations). On the other hand I read an amazing nonfiction book called The Swerve about Classical Greek revivalism during the Renaissance only because it had the award sticker on the front. No way I would’ve picked it up any other way.
Love this so much!
What's interesting here is that two of the books listed here (Absurdistan and Fates & Furies) are by authors that had other, excellent books. I absolutely LOVED Super Sad True Love Story and Arcadia, but both of these novels (one a predecessor and the other a successor, I believe) left me relatively cold. For my submission of most overrated novels, I'd like to submit the following: A la recherche du temps perdu (coming out swinging with the big guns here I know), Infinite Jest (I've still got 150 pages to go, but I think I'm gonna call it), A Brief History of Seven Killings (I couldn't even finish it. One of the very few books I've quit on, after like 500 pages no less. Technically, the variety of writing styles was impressive. But it just seemed like empty linguistic fireworks to me).
I love David Foster Wallace and Infinite Jest, but I get the takedowns of him/it in general and specifically as a weapon of literary mansplaining. Like Meg you mentioned in your post about enjoying contrarian critique of things I like, it can enhance my own experience and doesn’t always just pop the balloon of my enthusiasm. My love for Tom Wolfe, Oscar Wao, Vonnegut & Something Happened by Joseph Heller have all been enhanced with rereading, seeing the faults, being a more advanced age and taking in some pointed criticism. As far as takedowns I’ve enjoyed it, of a sort, is the last Charlie Kaufman movie “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” I didn’t like the movie really, but the main character has a extended retort to Jesse Plemons’s character’s academic condescension about DFW that was really good. The whole scene is a confusing car ride argument that includes Jessie Buckley’s unnamed protagonist quoting Pauline Kael at length even impersonating her accent? I don’t know, it got the point across. Add literary chauvinist snob to the long list of Jesse Plemons’ villains. He’s very good at the baddies, but really, enough Jesse Plemons.
I had the opposite experience to Sarah about Absurdistan in that it was so hyped I wanted read it, but didn’t because I got Super Sad True Love Story as a gift and disliked it so I much I couldn’t imagine reading another Shteyngart. I haven’t read any of the overrated books you wrote about, but now I can avoid those. It also reinforces a reading list tactic of mine: wait it out. Initial hype/awards can be unwarranted PR and since I can’t keep up, waiting to hear some personal friend takes can help weed out the worthy. Give it a moment and Dan tells me how good Goon Squad is and it turns out to be one of my favorite books of the last decade.
So funny, the reason I finally got around to reading infinite jest was because I was SO SICK of the literary mansplaining around it. I wanted to be able to make my own judgment about the book rather than judge it by its readers, so to speak. I’m glad I’m reading it and obviously DFW was a very clever person with a love for language. But reading it now as an adult, I see it as an extended exercise in adolescent (and very male) navel gazing. Look how clever I am! The whole thing screams to me. I could see having my world radically changed by this book if I actually read it when it came out - but now, when the hype is long died down, it seems too precious to me.
Yes, there's so much love for Lauren Groff out there, also her short stories. I think every author is allowed their dud, I'm just sad I read the wrong one first! I think I read the wrong Jonathan Lethem first too - Chronic City, which I found super boring, when obviously Motherless Brooklyn or Fortress of Solitude is obviously the way to go, but I'm just put off by him.
So no Proust for you! Big guns, indeed. I'm curious why. I haven't read A la recherche... but feel like I'm saving it for some particular season in my life, like you have to give yourself over to it for three months or something.