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/lit/ - Literature

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1851664 No.1851664 [Reply] [Original]

Okay, so I finally read this and I must say that it's fucking horrible. What's even worse is that everyone is praising this to be some kind of work of a genuis.
I even regret paying for this book.
I'm not trolling but I sure as hell am mad.
What is it that I'm supposed to like with this book?

>> No.1851670

You're supposed to empathize with the character. That is the point. Congratu-fucking-lations.

I didn't really like it either. The narrative was interesting, but it hardly made up for the dull plot.

>> No.1851681

>>1851670
I didn't disregard this, but if I'm supposed to emphatize/sympathize with some spoiled whiny-ass brat; think again.
The protagonist of the story was what annoyed me the most, I guess it's only for whiny-ass amerifags that can relate to his tiny existential problems, and perhaps for 14 year old brats that are equally retarded as the main character.

>> No.1851682

It's something you're supposed to read when you have the mental maturity of an average 15-year-old.

>> No.1851685

>>1851682
Exactly. Is Harry Potter great literature suitable for all ages, with themes that anyone can relate to?

No. It's for children. It's good, but it's for children.

>> No.1851686

It's to enjoy the stream-of-consciousness of someone else. Do you never think or reflect? Are you conscious of your own existence? If not, you may not enjoy the book.

Only people who live life on auto-pilot and don't think could hate this book.

>> No.1851692

>>1851686
On the contrary; the more thinking you have done, the less you will enjoy this book as every single thing that's supposed to be thought provoking about it is blasé.

>> No.1851694

>>1851692
>it's blase
>doesn't cite examples

well way to go, buddy, I give you an F for effort

>> No.1851697

>Actively hating on something that has not, and never will change your life in a negative way

You're more like Holden than you think, son.

>> No.1851701

>Complaining about the unreliable narrator
>Clearly 2deep4u

>> No.1851702

OP confirmed for within the ages of 18-22.

>> No.1851706

I've never read it. Whenever it's described to me, >>1851682
is the impression that I get; that I've missed the window for enjoying it. anyone want to convince me (and perhaps OP) otherwise, without being catty about it?

>> No.1851713

>>1851706
Can you also not read stuff like To Kill a Mockingbird or Where the Red Fern Grows, just because it's catered to young people? Are you really that jaded? Honest question. Can you really not place yourself in the shoes of someone younger than yourself?

>> No.1851719

>>1851706
There isn't a small age window that you must read it during to enjoy.

There is an age window where you are likely to hate it though.

>> No.1851720

i hated holden therefore the book sucks!!!!!

>> No.1851735

>>1851713
I certainly cannot relate to a 14 y/o is that so wrong? For me to enjoy a book I must be able to put myself in a main characters shoes. IF they are whiny and pretentious I won't read the book.

>> No.1851736

argh I hated that book made me want to kill a popular mucisianf

>> No.1851740

i've always hated it, mainly because so many hipsters seem to like it

>> No.1851746

>>1851735
You're just digging yourself a deeper hole here. Did you know that most books have protagonists that aren't your age? Did you know that most authors aren't your age, too? I guess you can't relate to or read those things, since they're so difficult to relate to. They must all suck. They must all be terrible.

>> No.1851750

People who don't like this book complain that everyone else likes it.

People who like this book complain that no one else likes it.

>> No.1851751

>>1851735
I'm not sure if that follows, you seem pretty whiny and pretentious to me.

>> No.1851757

>>1851664


obviously trolling, incredible book.
/thread

>> No.1851762

>look /lit/ i hate this book too!
>please accept me!!!

>> No.1851766
File: 53 KB, 1332x675, 1305682572346.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1851766

>>1851762

>> No.1851770

>>1851713
No, i didn't mean it like that. I'm sure I could find a way to enjoy catcher in the rye. I read things that are for kids all the time. Catcher just seems like it isn't really something I'd get into on the merits of the story or the writing style alone, I'd have to invent for myself some other method of appreciating it. What i meant to be asking was: What are ways I can read this book and draw something of interest from it, that /lit/ would recommend? I'm quite capable of thinking for myself, but I wondered whether y'all might provide me with some incentive to read the thing, lure me in with an interesting way of looking at the story or sommat. This is a board for discussion after all ¯\(°_o)/¯

Otherwise I doubt I'll ever be motivated to read it, there are lots of other books I haven't read yet that I find more more intriguing.

>> No.1851787

>>1851770
If you have none of the problems or questions of a 1950's teen (alienation, meaning of life, fitting in, becoming an adult) then it may not appeal to you. I can see how if you were a married man with a loving wife and two kids, then the book might not appeal to you.

Also, consider it a sample of 60's counterculture before 60's counterculture existed. Read it for its historical relevance.

>> No.1851793

>>1851720
This.

People seem to think that every book has to have a likable relatable protagonist, and if it doesn't then it's horrible.

>> No.1851798

>>1851770
>use of emoticon
Get out.

>> No.1851814

>>1851787
Thank you, that's a good explanation/recommendation.

I may as well be a happily married man with two kids, that or a damned fence post. "meaning of life" and "fitting in" type problems in stories never seem to hold my interest on their own, now that you mention it.

>>1851798
ಠ_ಠ

>> No.1851850

>>1851713
>are you really that jaded
>to not read a book about a jaded 15-year-old
cool bro story, bro