I’m sure you also have them: authors adored by everyone whose opinion you respect, that only make you shrug your shoulders. There are five of them in particular I would love to also love.
I’ve decided to give some another try. For others I’m considering accepting that we’re just not meant to be – any opinions and recommendations are most welcome.
Georgette Heyer
In theory, me loving GH should be a given but I’ve read three by her – These Old Shades, The Devil’s Cub and Frederica – and although I think they’re nice, I’m very far from the enthusiasm she usually inspires.
I enjoy her description of clothes, carriages and balls and she’s great with dialogues, but I never seem to connect enough with the heroine. Heyer’s very often hailed for her strong female characters, but they still seem somewhat meek and I’ve often felt their attraction to the hero borders on rape fantasy. In The Devil’s Cub for instance, Vidal is not a very nice person. I like a reformed scoundrel as much as the next girl, but there’s just so much vileness the author should ask us to find attractive in a man.
Another pet peeve I have with GH is the way she defends “blue bloodness”. The babies of a peasant and a Duke are switched at birth, but forget nurture, you can’t escape nature! The adult Duke has rosy cheeks, a soft personality and is attracted to farming, while the peasant girl walks like a princess and talks haughtily.
*sigh*
I want to like GH, but I’m not sure she’s for me. Do you have any recommendations, in particular ones that move a bit away from the plots of the three I’ve read? Should I persevere?
Haruki Murakami
I’ve only read Norwegian Wood, a long time ago, but it left me so indifferent that it put me off Murakami until now. Thinking back, the only thing I remember of the book is a vague image of someone sitting on a roof and thinking deep thoughts.
So many of my friends like him and I’ve read really enthusiastic reviews, so I’m seriously considering giving him another shot. Any favorites? I’m thinking The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle or Kafka on the Shore.
Diana Wynne Jones & C.S. Lewis
I’ve read Howl’s Moving Castle after adoring Miyazaki’s movie and Castle in the Air right after the recent sad news. None had an impact – good or bad. They’re nice fairy tales I probably should have read in my early teens but now can’t really enjoy. But not all is lost, after Nymeth‘s and others raving about it, I’ve added Fire & Hammock to my wishlist. Any others I should try?
The same goes for C. S. Lewis. I’m going through the Chronicles of Narnia, but feel too old to fully appreciate them (although Winnie the Pooh was lots of fun when I read it last year) and find myself resenting the obvious religious references. I’ll finish the series just to be able to join The Conversation, but have little hope for a late-blooming love affair. One of the oldest books in my TBR is his Till We Have Faces which seems to be indefinitely pushed down my priority list.
Kate Atkinson
Poor Kate, I think she was a victim of bad translation, which also threatened my initial relationship with Austen. I’ve read what I now fear was a very bad translation of Behind the Scenes at the Museum and in my mind she’s been “Meh” ever since. It’s only fair I give her a second chance, especially after Steph’s review of Emotionally Weird. What’s your favorite by her?
Do you have any authors you’re indifferent to but feel you should love? How many chances do you give them?
22 comments
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May 13, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Steph
I do hope you give Atkinson another try! It’s been a long while since I read Behind the Scenes at the Museum, but Emotionally Weird really was so good! Maybe you should try that one! In English, even! 😉
I feel like I should love Virginia Woolf and yet I pretty much find her unreadable. So that’s not really indifference, but I don’t hate her, I just have no success with her. I also haven’t been very successful with Borges, who I think I should love since he purportedly invented magical realism… and yet again, I read his works and just find them rather unsatisfying.
May 13, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Ti
I don’t think Kate is all that, either.
I have a lot of “meh” authors who I should enjoy more, but don’t. Toni Morrison and I do not get along. We do on audio, but not in print. She is one that comes to mind.
May 13, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Emily Jane
J.M. Coetzee is one of those authors, for me. Years ago I read both Elizabeth Costello and Diary of a Bad Year and really disliked both, but was persuaded to try his “masterpiece”, Disgrace. Just finished it, and decided that Coetzee’s just not for me. Will not be reading any more of him.
May 13, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Melissa
I definitely have some authors I feel the same way about. I would also say, I love the Narnia books growing up and really enjoyed his sci-fi Out of the Silent Planet, but I couldn’t stand Till We Have Faces. So maybe that’s not the best one to try next.
May 14, 2011 at 2:25 am
Bellezza
First of all, the cartoon of bleating sheep made me smile right away! But, don’t give up on Murakami. I love his work so much. Perhaps you could try something else by him for the Japanese Literature Challenge 5 which I’ll start in June. I have never read anything by Georgette Heyer, of whom I hear so much praise. Meh.
May 14, 2011 at 4:39 am
cbjames
Can I just say I love the sheep.
If you only read one more Murakami it should be either Wind-up Bird or Kafka on the Shore. I’d go with Wind-up Bird. Then, if you still don’t like him, you can at least say you’ve read his best book.
May 14, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Jackie (Farm Lane Books)
Norwegian Wood is quite dull and I wouldn’t blame you for feeling ‘meh’ about him if that is all you’ve read. I suggest giving Kafka on the Shore a try (unless you are a big cat lover – in which case give Wild Sheep Chase a try 🙂
May 14, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Teresa
I’m a big fan of Kate Atkinson and loved Emotionally Weird. Her style is quirky, though, which means it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste and I suspect it would be hard to translate well. So maybe she’s a victim of poor translation, or maybe she’s not for you. I second Steph’s suggestion that you try her in English to see.
May 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm
T
Not very helpful comment, but if you only feel like that about 5 authors, it´s not so many. Sometimes I think I feel like that about half the authors I try!
May 16, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Alex
@Steph: I also put Virginia Woolf beyond “indifference” and into “unreadable”… I’ll definitely try Emotionally Weird.
@Ti: I really like Beloved (has one of my favorite first lines ever), but never tried any other by her.
@Emily Jane: I’ve been staying away from Coetzee just because I also have the feeling he’s not for me. Saw the movie with John Malkovich and was even more sure.
@Melissa: He has a sci-fi novel? I didn’t know! I might like that one better. Maybe even if i don’t like Till We Have Faces I decided to give that one a try.
@Bellezza: That Challenge might be just what the Doctor ordered! I’ll take a look.
@cbjames: I’ll have to take a better look at those two books, because they do seem like the ones with more potential. I like the idea that if I didn’t like it, I can say I’ve read the best 🙂 I should apply it to other authors.
@Jackie: Kafka on the Shore is gaining points! I’m more of a dog person…
@Teresa: I’m all for quirky so I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Good to see you also liked Emotionally Weir!
@T: lol! Think of these as only my “top5” 🙂
May 20, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Delia
I’ve only read one Murakami book and that was After Dark. I chose it because it was short and didn’t want to buy a big bulky book of an author I’ve never read before. While it was a weird book, I found the style and particularly the dialogue to be very much to my taste. I warmly recommend it – if you’re interested in a quick review you’re welcome to have a look on my blog : http://wrongspelling.com/?cat=3&paged=2
May 21, 2011 at 6:19 am
anna cowan
Heyer seems to have two quite distinct character tropes – and you should definitely try some of her dandies before you give up on her! My favourites of these is The Corinthian (so much love). Also brilliant heroines in The Masqueraders and The Grand Sophy.
May 24, 2011 at 10:54 am
Tracy
I just finished reading Kafka on the Shore, and I was left with a big mystery of a book. I read it after a month and a half of reading Norwegian Wood on and off. The topic in Kafka is very different from Norwegian Wood, it’s less depressed and aimless, has more structure and plot.
I agree, Norwegian Wood wasn’t bad, and the theme should interest me (melancholy dysfunctional college kids who relate to the world abnormally) but it reminded me of After Sunset, the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy movie: interesting and warm, but okay, so what?
June 15, 2011 at 1:07 am
Mrs.B.
I’m with you with regards to Georgette Heyer and Kate Atkinson. I’ve read a novel each by them and I don’t see what the big deal is. Haruki Murakami is brilliant though I don’t like all his books. I did love Norwegian Wood. I recommend The Wind-Up Bird which is my fave book by him. I didn’t like Kafka on the Shore probably because of the mother-son incest parts.
August 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Ti
What a great list… I don’t get Atkinson’s work. It’s readable but only that (to me). Nothing remarkable about it.
I think Murakami is a hit or miss author by nature. He doesn’t write for the masses (although he has a huge following). He tells a story like he sees it in his head and his visions are surreal and on the edge of disturbing. Not everyone is able to convert that and turn it into something meaningful.
When I read Kafka and was so affected by it, I immediately dived into Dance Dance Dance to see if it was just a one-time thing of it his writing really resonated with me. Well, I am loving Dance Dance Dance even more than Kafka so I think I can honestly say I’ve found a new fave in Murakami.
September 6, 2012 at 3:51 pm
WhiteLady3
First of all… OMG the picture!!! xD
Of all the authors you mentioned I’ve only read C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, which I loved. I did enjoyed the religious references but understand it might not be appealing to everybody.
Recently I tried to read The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory and just couldn’t finish. It seems to be a favorite of historical fiction lovers but it annoyed me that she dwelt on subjects that really wasn’t interesting to me.
September 6, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Listopia: Favorite “Best Books” Lists « The Sleepless Reader
[…] Five authors I should love but alas, am indifferent to […]
September 7, 2012 at 3:07 am
Jenny
LOVE the sheep. But I am going to just say a thing. I can’t not say it. It is a book law that is NAMED AFTER ME. It is Jenny’s Law. So I can’t not say it. Jenny’s Law states that Diana Wynne Jones is better on a reread. She has written several dozen novels, and I liked maybe….three of them the first time I read them. Maybe three, seriously. The great majority of the time, I read a book of hers and think “Oh, this is a shame, she’s really losing her touch with this one,” and then I read it again a while later and realize it is actually wonderful. I’m not saying DWJ is for everyone, but I do just want to say that I didn’t like most of her books the first time I read them. Including Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Air. Found them unremarkable the first time and liked them way better on subsequent tries.
To prove that I am not just saying things to talk you into an author I love more than my life, I will add that you sort of have to read the Chronicles of Narnia as a kid. I’ve never met anyone who’s read them as an adult and liked them. You just missed the window of opportunity on those.
But Diana Wynne Jones! Not the case with her! She’s great and her books are good and they are better on a reread and it was always thus.
September 7, 2012 at 5:54 am
heidenkind
I’ve never enjoyed Diana Wynne Jones, either. The other writers I’ve never even been interested enough in their books to try!
September 7, 2012 at 6:28 am
Risa
Is it too late to encourage you to read Heyer’s Venetia, The Talisman Ring, Bath Tangle, The Black Sheep, The Grand Sophy, Sylvester? They all have strong and older heroines. Also, Friday’s Child is a favourite though both hero and heroine are very very young — that’s what brings out the charm of the book I think. Don’t give up on her yet!
September 21, 2012 at 4:25 pm
sakura
Norwegian Wood has none of the fantastical elements Murakami is famous for so yes, do try some of his other books please! I loved both The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Kafka’s Shore but have to confess Norwegian Wood is still my favourite. I loved the Narnia books as a child but when I tried to reread them a few years ago, it was agony. But I enjoyed the films:)
October 8, 2012 at 1:57 am
claire
The only Diana Wynne Jones I’ve read is also Howl’s Moving Castle. I agree with you, I just found it really nice, but not something that would make me crave to read more of her right away. I did love Narnia very much, though. Which book are you on now? It gets even better on and after the third. Don’t give up!
I haven’t read Heyer. Don’t know if I ever will. Murakami: I’ll be reading Norwegian Wood next month. Have only read Kafka on the Shore and Windup Bird Chronicle before. I can’t say I loved them. They’re really not your average book and I can’t rate nor rank them the average way. Suffice it to say, they kept me glued till the end, even if a lot of the things going on weirded me out. It’s sort of like watching an anime film with a touch of eerie.
Kate Atkinson, I have only also ever read Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which I liked when it came out, though what I felt was: mediocre bordering on almost really good, like there’s a potential there, the voice. I feel just okay with her, too, so I can’t really convince you to like her more.