# "Great Books" that no one seems to like...what are we missing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [July 29, 2021, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575 "2021-07-29T06:26:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/181 "2021-08-01T13:39:20Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I read _ **Gormenghast** _ (Mervyn Peake) when I was young, had good eyesight, and read everything. But … even then, I couldn’t see the point. A bound-together copy of all three Gormenghast books (_Titus Groan_, _Gormenghast_ and _Titus Alone_) is right here on my desk. It’s been there for years. It’s serving as a monitor stand. I tried. I really did. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/182 "2021-08-01T14:10:15Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > > [@Shoeless](#): > > > > I’ve been slogging through Anna Karenina for about the last six months. I’ve been debating whether or not to power through it until the end, but I think you’ve convinced me it’s not worth it. > > That’s one where the translation matters (assuming you’re reading it in English). The transition I am (was?) reading is by Constance Garnett. I have no idea if it is a good translation or not. It’s a version I downloaded from some free e-book site. But I do have a copy of the Maude translation of “War and Peace” that **GreenWyvern** suggested, so I’m going to take a crack at that one once I get through a few more books in my “dead tree” pile. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/183 "2021-08-01T14:58:40Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > It’s been there for years. It’s serving as a monitor stand. So you found the book uplifting? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/184 "2021-08-01T19:13:38Z")
It’s the base for all his views. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/185 "2021-08-02T00:18:08Z")
A good friend of mine loves the Gormenghast books and got me to try them. I think I got through one and half. They do have a certain … _something_. And they do portray a dull, suffocating, ancient, conservative society rather well. Rather too well, I think. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/186 "2021-08-02T00:27:28Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Maybe true, but one of my retirement projects was to read all of Shakespeare. After a few plays the language became quite readable, in fact I was dreaming in blank verse. It helps to start with the fun ones like Henry V or a few comedies. Oh, I like reading Shakespeare too. His plays work better than most as written texts - though they’re not the only ones, of course. But for a lot of people, especially young people, who find them difficult at school, seeing them performed (even if it’s in a movie version - especially the ones that are closer to the known texts) can make a big difference. For some people just “thee” and “thou” create stumbling blocks, but in performance they naturally comes across as “you,” since you can _see_ them being used that way. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/187 "2021-08-02T00:28:09Z")
Three major but many others. Arwen, Galadriel, and Eowyn. Rosie, Goldberry, etc. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/188 "2021-08-02T00:52:14Z")
Arwen is certainly not a major character in the books. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/189 "2021-08-02T01:05:32Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > If the _Odyssey_ had been a movie (yes, I know, it’s been done, but they all suck) Even “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/190 "2021-08-02T01:12:01Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I was made to read this book in high school (among many others) and boy-oh-boy did I hate reading it. Deadly boring. The whole thing was a slog. Yet many will tell us this is the “great American novel”. Why? I was not thrilled with all my required reading in high school but this one was the worst by far. A lot of times we read stuff like this in school because the book has some sort of cultural, historical, or literary significance not because we’re expected to like it. Steinbeck is a pretty important author in American literary history who won the Nobel Prize in literature because his work was so influential worldwide. _The Grapes of Wrath_ was a best seller though it remained controversial for man years being burned or banned in many places throughout the US. But I think the story is still relevant today. Put me down as someone who quite likes the book. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/191 "2021-08-02T03:20:08Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > If the _Odyssey_ had been a movie (yes, I know, it’s been done, but they all suck) None of them is extremely faithful to the original epic, but I have a soft spot for the Hallmark version starring Armand Assante > **[The Odyssey (1997 miniseries)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Odyssey_(1997_miniseries))** > > The Odyssey is a 1997 American mythology–adventure television miniseries based on the ancient Greek epic poem by Homer, the Odyssey. Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, the miniseries aired in two parts beginning on May 18, 1997, on NBC. It was filmed in Malta, Turkey, parts of England and many other places around the Mediterranean, where the story takes place. The cast includes Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Irene Papas, Isabella Rossellini, Bernadette Peters, Eric Roberts, Geraldine Chaplin, Jeroe... The 1954 **Ulysses** with a young Kirk Douglas and a young Anthony Quinn isn’t that bad, either > **[Ulysses (1954 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(1954_film))** > > Ulysses (Italian: Ulisse) is a 1954 fantasy-adventure film based on Homer's epic poem Odyssey. The film was directed by Mario Camerini, who co-wrote the screenplay with writer Franco Brusati. The original choice for director was Georg Wilhelm Pabst but he quit at the last minute. The film's cinematographer Mario Bava co-directed the cyclops Polyphemus segment (uncredited). > In the film Silvana Mangano plays two roles, as Penelope, the faithful wife of Ulysses and the sorceress Circe. American st... ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/192 "2021-08-02T04:25:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Three major but many others. Arwen, Galadriel, and Eowyn. > > Rosie, Goldberry, etc. I wouldn’t call any of them major. Sure Eowyn kills the one dude but that doesn’t make her a major character. Also - it’s been years - but do any of them interact? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/193 "2021-08-02T04:28:24Z")
Yes, there are several scenes where Arwen interacts with her father and Aragorn. And several scenes with Eowyn interacting, and Galadrial interacts with just about the whole party. You have not read the books? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/194 "2021-08-02T04:29:21Z")
I have, years ago. I meant **women** with each other. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/195 "2021-08-02T04:30:49Z")
They are like nations apart geographically. Why is that important? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/196 "2021-08-02T04:47:51Z")
I was just curious how isolated the women are from each other. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/197 "2021-08-02T05:57:40Z")
The essential structure of the book is that a group (the Fellowship of the Ring) travel a great distance and stuff happens along the way. As the female characters mentioned are each from very different locations, and the Fellowship of the Ring is all male, the answer is no. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/198 "2021-08-02T06:10:28Z")
I **have** read the books. It was a long time ago so I didn’t remember if any of the females ever met each other. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/199 "2021-08-02T08:37:14Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > _The Divine Comedy –_ The _Inferno_ is great. Dante describes the eternal torments of famous villains and his political enemies, and shows great creativity. What’s not to love? I agree that the Purgatorio and the Paradiso are snore-fests, though. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I actually preferred the _Purgatorio_ to the _Inferno_ , but agree with you about the _Paradiso_ . Same. There’s not much of a story when it’s basically just “Here’s some happy people. Here’s some more happy people. Here’s some even happier people.” We get it - everyone in Heaven is happy. But apart from some of the weird allegorical shit thrown in at the end, _Purgatorio_ is pretty good. > [@mbh](#): > > I like _Titus Andronicus_ . It’s Shakespeare’s chainsaw movie. Don’t read it for Deep Thoughts. Just enjoy the gore. SO MUCH GORE. I saw a staging that caused an audience member to run off and puke due to the gore. The interval was spent literally mopping the stage. It was _awesome_. > [@Lancia](#): > > I haven’t read all the replies yet, so maybe this point has been beaten to death by now, but many of the “great books” are “great” because we were _told_ they were great in HS or undergrad English courses and we never really questioned it. Reminds me of the “Shakespeare” scene from _Dead Poets’ Society_. Shakespeare **is** pretty fucking amazing but one should come to that conclusion on one’s own, not merely accept it because your teacher said so. > [@JohnT](#): > > My God, is time again for my biannual ranting about Huckleberry Finn? And then get piled on by the Board by because I didn’t understand it? And for me to respond that ‘I don’t care, it still sucked!’? A reminder that “I liked/didn’t like X” is not the same axis as “X is good/bad”. There are things I acknowledge that are of high merit that don’t appeal to me at all, and some things that are absolute crap that I love. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/200 "2021-08-02T13:08:59Z")
I just took the eBook (“Infinite Jest”) out from the library due to this thread and hearing someone point it out in the airport bookstore. It felt as if fate were elbowing me toward it. I’m only about fifty pages in, but so far it’s fun and I’m not getting the sentence wrangling vibe with obscure vocabulary those reviews are giving me. Then again, I have read a couple Nabokov books in the last month, and when it comes to exhuming every word of the English language for its meaning and sonority, Nabokov is up there with the best of them. Reading _Pale Fire_ as an eBook was tremendously helpful, with the ability to look up words instantly and also as the book requires a lot of cross-referencing. Anyhow, looking forward to reading the rest of _Infinite Jest_ and hope it doesn’t take a turn for the dull and intractable. I will also agree with the LOTR readers. Lord knows I tried to read that massive tome and fought my way to about the halfway point before just giving up. Fantasy fiction was never my bag, but I was told this transcends the genre, And to be fair, it probably does, but the writing style just didn’t do it for me. It was mildly interesting as an intellectual exercise — I enjoyed the made up languages and lore and general world building. I just didn’t care about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575.md?page=11)