Unpopular Literary Opinions

[tinyshoes]

Brace yourselves kids. . .
I liked Caleb Carr's The Alienist as well as its sequel, Angel of Darkness. I read them twice and I liked them twice. Yeah, yeah, the sequel had the deus ex machina ending from hell, but at least he clearly had fun with it, and as a reader, so did I.

I'm gonna run away now before everyone tries to give me a swirlie.

[lyrasilver]

I liked The Catcher in the Rye when I read it in high school. It didn't change my life or anything, but it was a refreshing change from some of the horrendously boring books we read. At least Holden was an interesting, if a bit annoying, character.

My very unpopular opinion? I liked Mists of Avalon. I love Arthurian legend stuff and it was just an interesting read. I was rooting for Morgaine to just punch Guinevere all the way through. I can see why people would dislike it, though. It's long and rambly and kind of freaky-deaky at parts.

I really like Wuthering Heights, too. I first read it in high school and was all, "Cathy and Heathcliff 4eva!!!" Then I reread it a few months ago in college and realized that there really isn't any romance, just crazy messed up people ruining each other's lives. It's sort of like watching a gruesome surgery on TV - so weird and gross that it's compelling.

Books I hated : Heart of Darkness, Moby Dick, anything by Steinbeck. I feel sort of guilty because I'm an English major, and I'm practically required to like this stuff. But I don't. Ha!

[mrpancake]

If I had to pinpoint my least favorite book ever, Heart of Darkness just may be the one I would choose. It was almost freakishly boring, and several people have tried to convince me that it's a good book...I'm not buying it. I swear, this book falls into a category to me of: "It's old, so it's gotta be good." The whole thing was rambly and ineffectively over-descriptive. And I honest to God didn't give a crap of any of the characters.

[marywebgirl]

I really like Maeve Binchy. I know her books are crap, but they're enjoyable crap.

[monsterzero]

My unpopular Literary opinion? I never read Catcher in the Rye. And I never will! Take that!

[underjoyed]

If I had to pinpoint my least favorite book ever, Heart of Darkness just may be the one I would choose. It was almost freakishly boring, and several people have tried to convince me that it's a good book...I'm not buying it. I swear, this book falls into a category to me of: "It's old, so it's gotta be good." The whole thing was rambly and ineffectively over-descriptive. And I honest to God didn't give a crap of any of the characters.

Totally agree. I never liked Conrad, but always felt that I should, because he's part of the canon and it's a "classic".

He's kind of the literary equivalent of a parsnip. I know it's good for me; I tell myself it's good for me, but I tried it and frankly, I just didn't like the taste.

ETA: Woo-hoo! Obsessed Snark! I'm proud, and yet deeply concerned at the same time.

[huntergrayson]

I liked Caleb Carr's The Alienist as well as its sequel,

This is unpopular? I haven't read the sequel, but I devoured this book when it came out. It was also quite scarring, as the murderer's prey was effeminate 14-year old boys, which I happened to be at the time, so I was scared yet also completely engrossed. The funny thing is when my mom took the title literally and was trying to prevent me from seeing Independence Day.

In my high school English class, I was one of two people who enjoyed Beloved. The guys seemed to hate it in particular. I had previously read it and one other Morrison novel for an independent assignment and the improvement is staggering. Oh, not disdaining The Scarlet Letter was pretty unpopular as well. I didn't love it, but it wasn't as horrible as people thought.

Valley of the Dolls is a classic, I tell ya. It's incredibly juicy, yet the writing doesn't seem "trashy" to me like a lot of naughty pageturners these days.

[tinyshoes]

monsterzero said:

My unpopular Literary opinion? I never read Catcher in the Rye. And I never will! Take that!

Hear hear! Well spoken Monster Zero. I never plan to read it either!

[speciousreasoning]

I loved the book "Fear No Evil" by Natan Sharansky. For a man who spent ten years in a Soviet gulag, he's got quite a sense of humor. (not really sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but whatever).
I also loved the book "Warrior" by Ariel Sharon (his autobiography). People talk about how Prime Minister Sharon has an ego the size of the earth. There's a reason - he's a bloody brilliant man, militarily and otherwise. Boy, that book gets me some nasty looks but I still love it.
And (continuing the theme of Israeli writers), anything by Bibi Netanyahu is so well written and interesting. Bibi is a man with an amazing grasp of foreign policy, Israel's defenses, and terrorism.

[dulcinea]

I love two of the most unpopular books to ever be forced down the throats of high schoolers; A Separate Peace, and The Scarlet Letter. I absolutely adore Nathaniel Hawtorne. So much so that I paid good money to tour a house he only very briefly lived in. Yes! Give me ten pages which describe the sitting room doorway! I lurve it!

A Separate Peace intrigued me on so many different levels. It is true that Gene is a bit of a gobshite. The drama, the jealousy, the guilt, the compassion, the confrontation of your own demons . . . it was like a better written, more interesting Peyton Place. (Need I say that I gobbled down Hardy and James like they were cheese-its?)

I hate The Time Traveler's Wife. Gah! I'm pretty sure the brain cells that were left after my recent romance novel binge have exited the building due to this piece of tripe.