[Em_Huong]

Just seen this article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/book...t-books-top-10

Here's the list according to the website the Millions:

Nightwood - Djuna Barnes
A Tale of a Tub - Jonathan Swift
The Phenomenology - Spirit by GF Hegel
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
Clarissa, or, The History of a Young Lady - Samuel Richardson
Finnegans Wake - James Joyce
Being and Time - Martin Heidegger
The Faerie Queene - Edmund Spenser
The Making of Americans - Gertrude Stein
Women and Men - Joseph McElroy

Anyone read any? I feel quite determined to try and tackle them myself now.

[bramz19]

If these are really harder to read than Foucault's Pendulum or the Illuminatus trilogy, I honestly don't want to try.

[Rachael.]

I've read To the Lighthouse and Book 1 of The Faerie Queene as part of my degree. I struggle with most of the books I've studied tbh, but I didn't find either of them particularly 'difficult'... just quite dull But difficulty is subjective, no?

[The Epicurean]

I have been tempted to read Hegel before. Apart from that, I have never and don't I ever will, tackle any of those books listed.

[hobnob]

What is To the Lighthouse doing on that list? It's been ages since I read it, but as far as I remember it's neither long and boring nor excessively tough in terms of language.

[Star7]

I've read Book I and Book III of The Faerie Queene for my previous course at uni, I wouldn't say it was hard exactly, it's more tedious when you have to keep translating each line from Middle English into normal English, though it gets easier once you keep doing it (although I dunno if there are versions where it's already been translated). I didn't find it hard to read once it was translated, I guess it was kind of interesting, if you like epic poetry and allegorical stuff

[hobnob]

(Original post by Star7)
I've read Book I and Book III of The Faerie Queene for my previous course at uni, I wouldn't say it was hard exactly, it's more tedious when you have to keep translating each line from Middle English into normal English, though it gets easier once you keep doing it (although I dunno if there are versions where it's already been translated). I didn't find it hard to read once it was translated, I guess it was kind of interesting, if you like epic poetry and allegorical stuff

Middle English? Some of the language is a bit archaic, but it's still 1590s...
Anyway, I disagree about it not being difficult, actually. Spenser is complex and not that easy to get to grips with, not least because of the 'allegorical stuff', much of which will be impossible to understand without decent annotations. Worth the effort, though - and not tedious.


Regarding the overall principle of this list: I don't really see the point in lumping texts that a lot of people find tough to get through for completely different reasons as 'difficult' and singling them out as though you'd only want to read them for a dare or something.

[Aspiringlawstudent]

I've never even heard of any of them.

[desdemonata]

I've read a pretty archaic version of the Odyssey. That was difficult enough for me.

[Star7]

(Original post by hobnob)
Middle English? Some of the language is a bit archaic, but it's still 1590s...
Anyway, I disagree about it not being difficult, actually. Spenser is complex and not that easy to get to grips with, not least because of the 'allegorical stuff', much of which will be impossible to understand without decent annotations. Worth the effort, though - and not tedious.


Regarding the overall principle of this list: I don't really see the point in lumping texts that a lot of people find tough to get through for completely different reasons as 'difficult' and singling them out as though you'd only want to read them for a dare or something.

Apologies, I got confused with the other works I studied around that time, which were in Middle English, just glanced through my copy and the language is not as old, my mistake. But yeah, I do agree it's not tedious, and definitely, as you say, worth the effort.

I think I found it easy because by the time I got to reading it, I was used to that kind of writing, and obviously because of the annotations in my edition, which were really thorough.

[Jimbo1234]

Surely a "difficult" book is a bad book, thus the top 10 most difficult are the 10 largest failures?

[rodcarter]

I found The Prince by Nic Mach a pain in the arse to read

[onda]

Why on earth would someone read a difficult book? Reading is meant to be an enjoyable pastime or hobby, not a bloody Fluid mechanics book!

[diggy]

Martin Chullzewit by Charles Dickens it's probably longer than the first version of the bible

I thought it was lots of Dickens books in one i was dismayed to find that it was one meaty book

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

[Ra Ra Ra]

I've only heard of two of them

[diggy]

I define difficult books as old books i normally read them because they include lots of advanced vocabulary and i life some of the waiting styles ie.the sequence of words

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

[Sparky:)]

nope none of them

[hobnob]

(Original post by onda)
Why on earth would someone read a difficult book? Reading is meant to be an enjoyable pastime or hobby, not a bloody Fluid mechanics book!

So you think it's impossible to enjoy something that isn't easily accessible and requires no effort?

[Ape Gone Insane]

No Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)? I thought that would have a prime spot on the list, it's quite a difficult book to read for many, many people for largely the same reasons.

(Original post by onda)
Why on earth would someone read a difficult book? Reading is meant to be an enjoyable pastime or hobby, not a bloody Fluid mechanics book!

Something doesn't have to be easy in order to be enjoyable. There might be a greater reward, and therefore enjoyment, to be had in the payoff of a difficult book. I know with Infinite Jest, I found the first third of the book extremely difficult to slog through and, up until a certain point, I almost gave up. Having now finished the book, it has become one of most enjoyable experiences I've had in reading, it was quite remarkable.

[Lord of the Flies]

Tried Finnegans wake once - couldn't get past the first few lines:

"riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.
Sir Tristram, violer d'amores, fr'over the short sea, had passencore rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy isthmus of Europe Minor to wielderfight his penisolate war: nor had topsawyer's rocks by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselse to Laurens County's gorgios while they went doublin their mumper all the time: nor avoice from afire bellowsed mishe mishe to tauftauf thuartpeatrick: not yet, though venissoon after, had a kidscad buttended a bland old isaac: not yet, though all's fair in vanessy, were sosie sesthers wroth with twone nathandjoe. Rot a peck of pa's malt had Jhem or Shen brewed by arclight and rory end to the regginbrow was to be seen ringsome on the aquaface.
The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnk onnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrov arrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenth urnuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy. The great fall of the offwall entailed at such short notice the pftjschute of Finnegan, erse solid man, that the humptyhillhead of humself prumptly sends an unquiring one well to the west in quest of his tumptytumtoes: and their upturnpikepointandplace is at the knock out in the park where oranges have been laid to rust upon the green since devlinsfirst loved livvy."