Chekhonte Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I love to read and don't mind a challenge but I started reading Proust again and I think he is the most difficult author to read. His sentences are insanely long, often times taking up a long paragraph's worth of space. He also writes with an iron fist. If you're mind wanders for even a bit you'll often times be lost. This is a striking difference between his work and let's say Ulysses where your mind can drift as often as the protagonist's and be on the same page. What author or authors give you trouble? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggeh Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Tolstoy is inflated, impenetrable, dull and pointless. Tolkien is the same, but much easier to chew through. And I'll probably get shot through the lungs for that one. Moby Dick was also impenetrable inflated and dull. Don't know about anything else Melville wrote. Foucault is very complicated and advanced and difficult to read even though the translations are good, but thats fact not fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chekhonte Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Yeah Foucault is a pain I'd put Kant and his monads on that list if it included philosophy. I am in complete agreement with you with Tolkien. I've never been able to enjoy reading his fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humanflyz Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Yeah Foucault is a pain I'd put Kant and his monads on that list if it included philosophy. I am in complete agreement with you with Tolkien. I've never been able to enjoy reading his fiction. Actually, the monads are Leibeneitz, to be nit-picky. Personally, I can't stand Pynchon, something about his prose just makes my mind wander and get lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Pynchon can be tough. Faulkner, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 scrypt's posts were usually tough to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chekhonte Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Actually, the monads are Leibeneitz, to be nit-picky. Personally, I can't stand Pynchon, something about his prose just makes my mind wander and get lost. You're right, leibneitz originated the concept of monads but Kant discussed monads as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 gonads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chekhonte Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 according to Kant your gonads have extra monads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chekhonte Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Ha! Yeah logic has little place in understand how we know what we know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jinp6301 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Tolstoy is inflated, impenetrable, dull and pointless. Tolkien is the same, but much easier to chew through. And I'll probably get shot through the lungs for that one. Moby Dick was also impenetrable inflated and dull. Don't know about anything else Melville wrote. Foucault is very complicated and advanced and difficult to read even though the translations are good, but thats fact not fiction. I could actually get through Tolstoy (but I usually have to take notes on the characters since I always get confused their names), Tolkein and Moby Dick pretty easily. For some reason I have much more trouble with Dostoevsky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherwood Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 scrypt's posts were usually tough to read. But oh so worth it! I miss him dearly. For my vote, I always enjoyed kant a great deal (even knowing nothing of German), so it was never a chore. Orhan Pamuk, on the other hand, is maddeningly difficult for me to get through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I miss scrypt too. I liked him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Ken Kesey - It Bids Pretty Fair is a tough one. It changes character perspective from paragraph to paragraph. Worth it tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Stanislaw Lem -- just...bizarreness (and yes, I realize they are translations -- doesn't help). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slwiser Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Gene Wolfe has to be some of the most complex fiction (fantasy possibly science fiction) that I have read and best. One can go into it at so many levels. The Series "Book of the New Sun" with the Shadow and the Claw as a great introduction. Amazon.com: Shadow & Claw: The First Half of 'The Book of the New Sun' (9780312890179): Gene Wolfe: Books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swt61 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 i loved Tolkien as a child, but i enjoy it less and less as i get older. Kant is better in German, you just have to hit the german/english dictionary every third word. Oh yes, I see how that could make for a fun read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humanflyz Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I'm reading Hegel right now, and that's definitely even more obscure than Kant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
en480c4 Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 I thought Tatyana Tolstoya's The Slynx bordered on unreadable. It was the most work I've ever put into a novel. I'd like to blame it on the translation, but I'm not sure I can... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blubliss Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Ok, I ve seen you guys talk about scrypt, and he posted today at HF after being lauded by Jude. It was hard for me to read but very entertaining. Laughs from a latent Head-Fi'er (Scrypt) - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Jesus -- epic win, indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopstretch Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Jesus -- epic win, indeed. TLDR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Yeah, I know, I was just linking directly to his post, just in case anyone only read the first page and thought it was about him rather than by him. And -- oo -- I got mentioned by name. I cried a little. Might have to log in and respond. I don't think he understands that people aren't just daunted by his vocabulary or by his sense of humor, but because they actually misunderstand him, I.E. they hear something other than what he's saying. I know, to the rest of us, it's like, "no shit", but I really don't think he gets that. I am reminded how much I miss him. God. Damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 I sent him a PM saying hi. I also encouraged him to drop by here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvse Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 I used to feel good about reading difficult fiction, but grad school maths textbooks are a whole different world of pain... Three pages per hour? That's a good going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.