/lit/ - Literature

Is Book of the Long Sun worth reading? I've read Book of the New Sun and Urth of the New Sun. I greatly enjoyed them, but I'm a bit unsure of whether I'll like the change of protagonist. I like Severian, his backstory choices he made and how he approaches the events he faces. Tell me whether BotLS is good and if its protagonist is worth anything.

EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE.
IS GOOD.

Finished shadow of the torturer and read a few chapters of claw already. It wasn't bad but it felt very meandering. I understand the plot progression on a large scale, but there are plenty of specific parts that go completely over my head or seem utterly pointless, such as the hut in the jungle inside the botanic gardens.
All I know is that there was a woman, man, and naked man and Sev and Agia went in but they were ignored while the naked man talked about religion or something. Severian is supposed to go to thrax but keeps getting sidetracked, all the while having these complex metaphorical thoughts and meeting women that he claims to deeply love after knowing them for a few hours. I'm also 99% sure that he still doesn't even know why Vodalus is a criminal, but continues to have these romanticized thoughts of him for whatever reason.

Did I miss an explanation about how he survived the duel with the avern flowers or will an explanation be given later because that's annoying me

But he has.

Why is this pretentious drivel considered a good book

Should I read the Shadow of the Torturer? I've been looking for a fantasy book that's really just... out there. However a lot of the reviewers and people say it requires "work" and "discipline" to get through and it's a puzzle book which will have me confused and looking up words every fucking page doubting the narrator. Have any of you read it /lit/? I see it always on the recommended reading list here.