# "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:** 7
**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:** [July 30, 2021, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/121 "2021-07-30T12:17:06Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ll start: > > - The Grapes of Wrath > > 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. I had the opposite reaction – I loved it. There are several “Great Books” that I loved in high school – **The Odyssey** (Fitzgerald translation), **A Tale of Two Cities** , **A Christmas Carol** , **Gulliver’s Travels.** , **Lord of the Flies** (which I read in one sitting) Of course, it wasn’t all great stuff. I found Dickens’ **Hard Times** an awful slog. I didn’t like James Agee’s **A Death in the Family** , and I REALLY couldn’t stand John Knowles’ **A Separate Peace**. Then I had to read it again in college. I knew that my wife Pepper Mill was the perfect match when she told me that they made her read this book in high school, too, and she hated it. Speaking of “coming-of-age” stories, I don’t like **Catcher in the Rye** , either. As for the second part of your question, I find that I like a lot of Steinbeck. I liked **Of Mice and Men** and his obscure **The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights**. I’m going to have to look up his recently uncovered Werewolf novel, if I can (Yes, really – [A Young John Steinbeck's Unpublished Werewolf Novel Isn't Going To Print : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1001309335/a-young-john-steinbecks-unpublished-werewolf-novel-isnt-going-to-print) ) His writing is simple and direct, with much well-researched detail. That’s always an attractive combination. The plight of the Okies is pretty depressing, but you have to admire their grit and determination, and there are occasional bright spots. Steinbeck wrote elsewhere about the troubles of migrant workers, and the problems continue to this day. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/122 "2021-07-30T12:37:12Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > - The Grapes of Wrath > > 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. Loved it, but I didn’t have to read it for a class. That keeps cropping up, doesn’t it? If you’re reading it for class, then there are deadlines and you have to be ready to discuss it, etc. If you like the book, then discussing it is fun but if you’re being led by the nose it can backfire. My parents were Depression era folks so maybe I identified more with the characters. How did people survive, I wondered, especially if they had a criminal record. I liked Travels wth Charley, Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, and other Steinbeck books as well. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > His writing is simple and direct, with much well-researched detail. I wonder about that. _Travels_ has been challenged, you know. Oh well, they forgave the Coen brothers for Fargo. > **[Travels with Charley | Veracity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels_with_Charley#Veracity)** > > Steinbeck's narrative has been challenged as partly fictionalized. Bill Steigerwald, a former staff writer for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and an associate editor for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, followed the route as it is laid out in the Travels with Charley, and wrote about it in a 2011 article titled "Sorry, Charley," published in Reason magazine. He later self-published his analysis in a 2012 book, titled Dogging Steinbeck. Steigerwald concluded that Travels contains such a level He uses the dia... > [@Monty](#): > > The Scarlet Letter. I agree. I met a guy in college who said that if you imagine the rising action and denouement, etc. you’d have an upside down V. But he said some professor showed how part of the action leveled out, making it form an A. Sometimes the discussion points out things you missed or didn’t connect. Teachers have also at times helped me see things and I’ve said, “Wow. But I still don’t like the book.” The three great novels of American Lit, which we had to read for junior year, also included Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn. Hated them both as well. I expected to like Huckleberry Finn but I think the dialog was too distracting. “Sometimes you gwyne to git hurt, en sometimes you gwyne to git sick; but every time you’s gwyne to git well agin.” > [@dtilque](#): > > “Great Expectations” This was required reading in 9th or 10th grade English, but I got bored about halfway through and never finished it. Still have no idea how it ends. Loved it, identified with a poor young boy being smitten with a rich girl who has no use for him. There are a lot of books that I think are good but not fantastic, like Gatsby and Catcher. But usually if I don’t like a book I put it down. So I can’t conclude it’s a bad book because who knows? Maybe if I’d pressed on, I would have gotten through the introductory set up, the plot would have started developing, and I would have found it to be a wonderful book. I’m looking at you _Don Quixote,_ said by some to be the greatest novel ever written. What would fit the mold: movies. The first movie I think of: _The Big Chill._ I paid to see it, I was with friends, so I sat there disliking it from start to finish. I’ve walked out on a movie maybe 2-3 times. Another time, a group of us went and everybody but me left. The movie was Jim Carrey in “The Cable Guy.” I thought the ending explained why he was that way, showed that the film makers weren’t just yanking my chain, and it didn’t make it a great film, but at least it wasn’t as insulting to my intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/123 "2021-07-30T12:37:31Z")
**Catch 22**. I always wanted to like this book–it is well known and praised by many. But the titular “catch 22” concept appears in so many places that it becomes wearisome, and the dialog is all a bit off, surely by design. From Wikipedia: “Much of Heller’s prose in _Catch-22_ is circular and repetitive, exemplifying in its form the structure of a [Catch-22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(logic)). [Circular reasoning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reasoning) is widely used by some characters to justify their actions and opinions.” I never could get into it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/124 "2021-07-30T13:11:57Z")
As a descendent of Dust Bowl refugees, _The Grapes of Wrath_ has always had a resonance for me because it was similar to the stories my grandparents told me. When I taught Independent Studies most of my students were children of Latin Americans who came to California for similar reasons. Of the High School literary canon, _Grapes of Wrath_ garnered the most enthusiasm, followed closely by (for boys) _All Quiet on the Western Front_. I think they liked that the villain was a teacher. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/125 "2021-07-30T13:28:12Z")
Concerning Tolkien and the LOTR trilogy. I’ve heard of lots of folks starting and quitting before they got half way through ‘Fellowship’. And perhaps to a degree Tolkien is at fault here. As an author he did a number of things “wrong” if one views his work as an attempt to create a page-turning fantasy thriller. But I also think the readers’ expectations who quit too soon are also partly to blame here. In professor Tolkien’s defense, he never intended the books to be page turners filled with suspense - although there are definitely such moments - but rather an attempt to recreate the spirit of a saga and the entire world and backstory in which it took place. Readers are well rewarded for slogging through the first half of Fellowship in my view, as the action and direction of the plot picks up notably after the hobbits get to Bree. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/126 "2021-07-30T14:41:55Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Sometimes, I think, the books they choose are wrong for the age group. I first read **The Great Gatsby** for a book club when I was roughly 32. I loved it. I probably wouldn’t have in high school because I wouldn’t have understood that Fitzgerald didn’t _want_ you to like anyone. I first read TGG in high school and didn’t like it. (Not hated it, just didn’t see the point). I re-read it later for a book club and realized that I was too young to read it as a teenager and that my teacher had done a crap job teaching it. I had zero frame of reference for the book (knowing more about NYC SES and more about NY geography would have helped so much. Just hearing that the people were rich didn’t really explain enough) and I was also young and hopeful and had a bright promising future ahead of me. TGG works so much better after some of your dreams have died. That said, I loved the Grapes of Wrath (which was also taught by the same crappy lit teacher). But for whatever reason, I really got into that one. I’ve never been able to work through Dickens. So many words. So very many words. No periods. > [@carlb](#): > > I have attempted “Moby Dick” on at least three separate occasions, and have never made it through the entire novel yet. The thing is, I can’t really explain why. I’ve read, and enjoyed, plenty of 19th-century fiction, and I’ve loved plenty of books that are slow-paced. I read Moby Dick the same year that the Moby Dick Big Read came out: > **[Moby Dick Big Read](https://www.mobydickbigread.com/)** so I read along with the audio. Also, someone said to read it like a blog where the blogger is really, really, really into whales. So sometimes, he talks about his recent whaling trip. And sometimes, he just gets caught up in a discussion about whale spines (really into whales) and so, you read it anyway - cause he’s a nice guy and a good writer and sooner or later he’ll get back to what happened next on the trip. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/127 "2021-07-30T15:28:13Z")
I have taken part in the annual “read Moby Dick in 24 hours” event at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. That was cool. > **[MOBY-DICK MARATHON - Mystic Seaport Museum](https://www.mysticseaport.org/events/moby-dick-marathon/)** > > “Call me Ishmael…” and join us for the 35th annual Moby-Dick Marathon at Mystic Seaport Museum – the longest running marathon read in the country! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/128 "2021-07-30T15:38:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [offtopic]Given your avatar, I would’ve taken you for a Hemingway fan. So you’re a Yousef Karsh fan, then? Or just like the general “look” of the portrait? Just curious.[/ot] I actually do look like that portrait, as many people have told me. I even tend to dress that way. As I mentioned above, I admire his prose. When it comes to putting words together, I hope to write as well as he did. It’s the subject matter that tends to put me off. I go back every now and then to reread some of his works, hoping I’ll find what other people see in them. I mostly liked _ **For Whom the Bell Tolls** _, but didn’t particularly care for _ **A Farewell to Arms** _. I couldn’t see the appeal of a deserter knocking up a nurse and then fleeing to Switzerland so they can shack up together and drink Glühwein. It took a major effort for me to get through _ **The Sun Also Rises** _. What a self-indulgent snoozefest! 😴 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/129 "2021-07-30T15:48:43Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I guess there are two categories of books that I am glad I have read. > > - those that I enjoyed reading > - those that I didn’t enjoy reading but which imparted something that I felt was useful in terms of understanding the world, and/or which can be admired for their craftsperson-ship. Yes! There are two reasons—or two _kinds_ of reasons—for reading a book: 1. Entertainment value: the enjoyment you get _while_ you’re reading it. 2. What you gain from it: what stays with you _after_ you’ve finished it. Maybe it’s taught you something, or left you with memories of its world or characters or situations, or made you a better person in some way. Ideally, a book will provide its reader with both kinds of value; but for it to be worth reading, it has to give you enough of at least one or the other to repay the time and effort spent reading it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/130 "2021-07-30T16:24:29Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > > [@Tusculan](#): > > > > I’m surprised at the lack of appreciation for _For Whom the Bell Tolls_ . I read it in high school and it touched me profoundly as a description of a yearning love, tragically cut short. > > When I read FWtBT In high school, I liked the sex. If I were rereading it today, I’d skip over the purely gratuitous sex (and yearning love, ho-hum 🥱). “Okay, we get it, you’re a superstud, you even do it in your sleeping bag. Now get on with the war story, Goddammit!” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/131 "2021-07-30T17:36:26Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If I were rereading it today, I’d skip over the purely gratuitous sex I’d skip all of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”. A book with no redeeming literary merit, made famous by prurient sex. At least they didn’t make us read it at high school. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/132 "2021-07-30T18:06:35Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Other explaining to us what you are missing (“you” being the person who hates the book) “_A Message to Garcia_” - Elbert Hubbard “_Mateo Falcone_” - Prosper Merimee “A Message to Garcia” is baseless political propaganda that is without literary merit. It idolizes applying an unknown solution to an undefined problem. “_Mateo Falcone_” supports the ‘Faith, Family, Flag, Firearms’ cult. Perhaps it is a racist screed by a French author. I had both in English classes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/133 "2021-07-30T18:33:31Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > The Grapes of Wrath That is a great novel, and nothing, not even a textbook can better show the exodus from the dustbowl. But it could depress a hyena. Here are some listed "Great books; that are a real slog, most due to them being terribly dated; _The Divine Comedy_ _The Prince_ _Leviathan_ Several Shakespeare plays, _Titus Andronicus,_ e.g. _The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha_ (some translations aren’t bad) _Paradise Lost_ _The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_ (outdated and terribly biased) _Capital_ by Marx _Silas Marner_ _Scarlet Letter_ Many of those are enshrined in history as important books- and they are. But not for reading. anything by James F. Cooper. bad bad bad. Moby Dick- man, great and bad all at the same time. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/134 "2021-07-30T18:51:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Here are some listed "Great books; that are a real slog, most due to them being terribly dated; > _The Divine Comedy_ > _The Prince_ > _Leviathan_ > Several Shakespeare plays, _Titus Andronicus,_ e.g. > _The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha_ (some translations aren’t bad) > _Paradise Lost_ > _The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_ (outdated and terribly biased) > _Capital_ by Marx > _Silas Marner_ > _Scarlet Letter_ > > Many of those are enshrined in history as important books- and they are. But not for reading. > > anything by James F. Cooper. bad bad bad. > > Moby Dick- man, great and bad all at the same time. I agree with some of these, but disagree significantly with others. _De gustibus non disputandum est_ _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. _The Prince_ – I’ve re-read it numerous times. It’s not the amoral book it’s been made out to be, and it’s not ruthless. But it is very practical, and it’s surprising that he thought some rulers had to be told such obvious stuff. It’s pretty short, too. I have an audiobook edition (read by Fritz Weaver), and it’s only 3 CDs long. _Leviathan_ – read the first quarter or so, then threw in the towel. It’s interesting when he starts defining his terms, but it quickly becomes pretty boring bookkeeping, especially when you disagree with him. _Several Shakespeare Plays_ – depends on which ones you mean besides Titus Andronicus. Several plays are great. The most recent one I read – _Coriolanus_ – I’ll agree aren’t among his best. _Don Quixote_ – I’ve got the Penguin translation, but haven’t started it. I’m waiting for sometime when I have a year free. _Paradise Lost_ – Okay, I agree with you on this one. I’ve tried reading it, and I find it awful _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_ – I read it. I agree it’s dated, but it was written at the time of the American Revolution. What do you expect? There’s been a ton of scholarship since. It is eminently readable, though. _Das Kapital_ – I haven’t even tried this one yet. _Silas Marner_ – Haven’t read _Scarlet Letter_ – not my favorite, but readable _anything by James Fenimore Cooper_ – I’ll agree that I have not been able to push my way through any of Cooper’s books. And he was one of the most popular writers of his time. He took an old, persnickety character from one of his early books – Natty Bumppo from _The Pioneers_ and wrote a book about him when he was young and played by Henry Cavill and turned him into Superman, and people loved that. Then he wrote three more books with him as a superhero. But he did it all in that early 19th century heavy prose. Mark Twain famously wrote two essays lampooning his style (most people are familiar with “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” , but he also wrote a sequel. Wikipedia says it’s not as funny, but I find it hilarious), but I think a lot of the problem is the revolution and streamlining in the language that took place between Cooper’s time and Twain’s. Edgar Allen Poe is similarly wordy. _Moby Dick_ – disagree here. I loved Moby Dick when I read it. Again, though, it’s early 19th century style might throw a lot of people off. Or the switching between the straightforward narrative and the excursions into natural history and the discourses on metaphysical themes. But I loved that part. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/135 "2021-07-30T19:00:36Z")
> [@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. I actually preferred the _Purgatorio_ to the _Inferno_, but agree with you about the _Paradiso_. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/136 "2021-07-30T19:08:28Z")
The best way to read it is to watch the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/137 "2021-07-30T19:12:55Z")
I tried that approach in high school. I was _supposed_ to read _Tess of the d’Urbervilles_ but just could not get through it, so I watched the [1979 film version](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tess_(1979_film)) instead. (I had to rent it on VHS to do so.) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/138 "2021-07-30T19:13:47Z")
I like _Titus Andronicus_. It’s Shakespeare’s chainsaw movie. Don’t read it for Deep Thoughts. Just enjoy the gore. We had to read _Moby Dick_ in high school. I hated it. A few years later, I was browsing in a bookstore, and saw a copy. I bought it on a whim, read it cover-to-cover, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a lot more fun if you don’t have to write an essay on it the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/139 "2021-07-30T19:44:37Z")
The entire chapter of _Moby Dick_ titled “white” [/big toilet flush sound effect] I had to read the book in high school American Lit class. I was doing okay with it, tolerating the 19th century language well enough…but then I hit chapter 42 and the nice strong first person narrative we’d been experiencing suddenly turned into… a meandering, aimless, reverie about what the color white may or may not symbolize? I don’t really know to call it. But I’m afraid Melville lost this particular reader precisely at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575/140 "2021-07-30T19:56:45Z")
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. The truth is that assigned books in HS English classes are usually assigned because a) they are easy(ish) to analyze and b) they have been used as teaching tools for so long that there are loads of teaching resources available for them. Since everyone leaves high school having read them they sort of become “great” by default. Let’s use _Catcher in the Rye_ as an example. While reading the book students can analyze the themes of grief, individual vs. collective responses to outside events, and how socio-economic background or ethnicity effects (or doesn’t effect) pain and loss. In _CitR_ I have my students track how many times Holden mentions Allie vs. Phoebe, the number of negative things he thinks and the number of positive things he thinks, and analyze how he’s so resistant to change (which is why he loves the museum). He distrusts adults but clearly wants to protect children. _CitR_ is a great teaching tool when discussing and analyzing very human themes. But as a story I think it sucks. I find it boring and Holden Caufield is a whiny, miserable teenager with few redeeming qualities (which is another thing to analyze). I would never read it fun or pleasure but it’s a great teaching tool which is why it’s become a standard staple in English classes which, of course, has helped its reputation as a “great book.” The same can be said of _Grapes of Wrath_ (a total snoozefest from a great writer) or _The Old man and the Sea_ (same) or _The Great Gatsby._ (As an actual entertaining story? Gag me. But it is fun to analyze and a great way to get students to discuss race and economic privilege and similar social issues.) I love both Steinbeck, Hemmingway, and Fitzgerald but those three books, staples of high school English classes all over the country (I have a classroom set of The Old Man and the Sea on my shelf right now), are boring as hell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-books-that-no-one-seems-to-like-what-are-we-missing/947575.md?page=8)