Three books I did not enjoy !
I tend to enjoy most books I read, for I usually read a few reviews before I get started with any book. Plus, I am the kind who is looking to see how I can 'appreciate' a book, trying to find the right viewpoint that would make me get the most out of it. But there are some books that leave me feeling that they are terrible substitutes for the trees that have been felled to have them printed. I've listed three such books here. I've kept it short as I'd much rather write at length about things I like :-)
1) The Alchemist - In spite of being an idealist myself, this book did not appeal to me ! I can't quite put my finger on it. I enjoyed 'Illusions' by Richard Bach a lot more.
2) Love story - I didn't enjoy the book, for the storyline seemed very cliched, and seemed to have been borrowed from the Hindi movies from the 80s! That is until I discovered that Eric Segal wrote this book in 1970, which mean the movies probably pinched the storyline from him :-) I, however loved his other book, "The Class".
3) Eat Pray Love - I couldn't get past the first few pages in this book. Gilbert is clearly a gifted writer, and apparently leads a privileged existence, and yet, all she can she can think about is herself, and her needs ! Way too self-sbsorbed, and narcissistic for my liking ..In her quest to find herself, she is yet to figure out that "It's a sign of maturity when you begin to fall out of love with your own drama.".
8 comments:
I didn't find the Alchemist or Love Story impressive either, for the same reasons you have listed. I usually am faced with an angry mob when I confess this!
I actually liked the first half of Eat Pray Love because of the different journey of exploration she undertook, but it got increasingly silly and more self-absorbed (if you can believe that) towards the end!
Ya, Also i'm surprised when some people list them as their favourite books ! Ok, maybe the first half of Eat Pray Love gets better as one goes along. I read very few pages before putting the book away! Can't imagine how it can get even more self absorbed !:-)
I haven't read Eat Pray Love. I read the love story recently and must say I like romantic books. They are no brainers and are fun to read when you don't want to deal with anything serious. :)
I read Alchemist at least 5 years back. At that time I remember the book leaving a strong impact on me. I tried reading other Paulo books but could not go through more than a few pages. If I remember right I think the point of the Alchemist was the learning happens in the journey and it is not the destination that is important.
One book that I could not finish was God of small things. I get pretty emotionally involved in the books I read and movies I watch and this book depressed me.
Ya, I also occasionally enjoy reading no-brainers; just that these did not appeal to me for some reason;-) Actually, I remember flipping through 'The God of small things', and remember not liking that either. Again, to be fair, I didn't read the whiole book.
Hi,
Wandered over from N's blog, and couldn't resist following the thread of popular-unpopular books :).
With any discussion of love story, I can't help bringing up Roger Ebert's review (though I've yet to watch the movie, he sums up the book beautifully:))-
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19700101/REVIEWS/1010313/1023
Hi SecondSight,
Thanks for visiting this blog !
Eberts's review is well written, and I agree with almost everything he's said about the book . I haven't watched the movie either. Thanks for sharing it !:-)
Agree about Alchemist. Suffices to say, "It's symbolic" :) Lot of Booker novels fall in this category.
Haha ! I guess you are right, Ajit :-)
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