Unpopular Literary Opinions

[Deleted]

I wasn't so impressed by Scarlet Letter, maybe because it had been so built up, that by the time I read it I was expecting to be blown away. It was ok, I thought, but not so amazing. I've tried House of Seven Gables a few times but never really go into it. I do remember enjoying some short stories by Hawthorne, though, way back in high school. (Didn't he write the short story that was called something like "The Minister's Black Veil?")

[dulcinea]

Yes! That is what it is called. Many people who dislike his novels enjoy his short stories. "The Minister's Black Veil" is one of his most well known short stories and one of my favorites. I think "House of the Seven Gables" is probably his weakest piece. It is also my least favorite.

[Deleted]

I don't get why so many people LOVE Michael Chabon's books. I tried one (don't remember which, exactly, maybe "Wonder Boys") and really didn't like it.
I also didn't like the book by his wife (Ayelet Waldman) that I read, either.

[Deleted]

stargirl said:

I also didn't like the book by his wife (Ayelet Waldman) that I read, either.

Did you read one of her "Mommy-Track Mysteries" or her more "serious" work, Daughter's Keeper? I found the mystery I read to be OK for a series mystery, but Daughter's Keeper was too preachy for my taste.

[Deleted]

One of her mysteries, I guess. I skipped most of the middle chapters, because I found it so boring, so I don't even remember anything about the plot. Only thing I really remember was the main character breaking the news to her husband about being pregnant, so that sounds like it would fit into the series you mentioned.

[phenobarbara]

I hate Jane Austen. Hate her writing style.

[chiqui]

Me third. It's just so... twee. And who cares what upper-class British twits did in the early 1800s? (No offense meant for British CPMCoGers.)

[chantal]

I love Jane Austen. But, I recognize her for what she is... The very best romance novelist ever. I don't consider her great literature akin to Joyce or Shakespeare or Dickens. I just think she writes great little romances.

You have to get used to the language. Then she is very romantic and very funny.

[snacktastic]

binkybetsy said:

ITA. I also don't believe that Ted Hughes was the devil incarnate.

I prefer Ted Hughes as a poet. Now try saying that shit at a women's meeting.

[nadia]

I've never read Catcher in the Rye either and I don't think I want to. From everyones' descriptions it sounds like the type of book I'd identify with in my teens but find annoying as hell now.

dulcinea said:

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.

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?)

Aw, I love A Separate Peace too. Almost everything about it is the kind of thing I'd hate but I'd have to say it's one of my favorites, if not most favorite.

A popular book I can't stand is Of Mice and Men. I didn't even finish reading it in highschool. I got to the part with the bunny, I think, and just quit. I recently purchased a paperback copy after an acquaintance urged me to give it another try but when I sat down to begin reading it I groaned and slammed the book down after the first sentence.

I also hate that there was a rabbit on the cover of my book but that really has nothing to do with anything.