The Hardest Classics to Read

I've done a video about some of the easiest and shortest classic books to read. Today, I'm tackling the toughest. Which classic books are just a beast to get through. I stuck mainly to classics that I've personally read, like T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" and Herman Melville's Moby Dick, so I can describe just what makes them so difficult to read.
What's the toughest book you've ever read?
Good luck!
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[@forayjumpman]

Ulysses is actually one of my favorite novels I ever read. I’m at a point where I read over a dozen novels and wanted something that is very different. Ulysses, although quite difficult, is quite a treasure. When I was able to understand a reference, my brain explodes and it’s as though my whole perspective of the world completely changes.

[@williamgragilla7007]

Tried Ulysses, got through 130 pages and just couldn’t follow the plot. Turns out I’m not into Stream of Consciousness.

[@forayjumpman]

@@williamgragilla7007 That's fair. The book is definitely not for everyone.

[@williamgragilla7007]

@@forayjumpman Thanks for the validation man. I couldn’t finish Pride and Prejudice either.

[@Tolstoy111]

The whaling chapters in Moby Dick are metaphors and are filled with jokes. The digressions in Les Miserables are beautifully written. The account of the Battle of Waterloo is absolutely stirring and gripping. Ulysses is wonderful! It's funny, life affirming and very moving. Use a guide for it. It congeals perfectly well if you know what each section is doing. Every section of U is written in a completely different style. It's worth the climb up Mt Ulysses! Finnegans Wake not so much

[@englishnerd5580]

I'm glad you found joy and depth in those passages. Some of my favorite books have been criticized for being "too difficult" but sometimes the journey is absolutely worthwhile!

[@jayv3264]

Joyce’s “Dubliners” is wonderful! Easy to read, digestible, not a slog.

[@dqan7372]

For those wondering how someone could possibly enjoy Joyce's 'Ulysses', I would recommend Frank Delaney's Re:Joyce podcast. Unfinished at Delaney's death, Re:Joyce is a phrase by phrase celebration of the work. Those short individual podcasts are collected on KZbin by socraticidiot, if you want them all in one recording. I would also recommend reading along with an audio recording of the work. Having a written guide at hand will be necessary for many readers; Wikipedia and Cliffs/Spark will get you started, but there are better, deeper, dedicated works. Most of all, I would recommend that readers start by reading 'Dubliners', then move to 'Portrait'', and then, finally 'Ulysses'. (Of course, they could tackle 'Finnegans Wake', as well, but...) Finally, remember that 'Ulysses' is a puzzle to be pondered and enjoyed, not dreaded. Reading it takes some effort, but, I think, it is well worth that effort.

[@thor91helga]

Great advice. I've listened to all of Frank Delaney's Ulysses podcasts twice. He unpacked (to use his favorite verb) Ulysses for me and I was able to enjoy it for the great novel it is. I was very sad when I heard Delaney had died. I was able to finish and comprehend Ulysses after Delaney died because he had pointed the way.

[@levvellene570]

I told my brother's wife that I really loved the Silmarillion, but I got around to reading it much to seldom. She had tried to read it, but it just fizzled out. So my one advice to everyone: Don't read it as a novel, read it as chapters of a very long story! Then read something else when you feel bored with that!

[@marthacanady9441]

Les Miserables is one of my all time favorites. It will touch your soul. Fantastic experience.

[@mynameissiddharth]

We had Dostoyevsky's _Notes From Underground_ in our second semester syllabus (I have a master's degree in English literature). This is one of the most difficult books I've ever come across. The book is divided into two parts: in the first part, the unnamed narrator just blabbers about many unrelated, albeit sometimes intertwined, things. The second part actually tells a story. I, nonetheless, read the book and made notes of important points. But when I sat in the exam, I was shocked. I had no idea how I was going to answer the question from the book that was asked. I was lucky I didn't fail in the European paper. We had choices and I chose the question on Thomas Mann. Till today, _Notes From Underground_ remains the only work of literature I failed to grasp.

[@Virgil2022]

I agree with your analysis - while the cetology stuff in Moby Dick is actually kind of interesting to me sometimes, I agree and could do without the digressions for the most part. “I’ll chase him around the cape and horn and around Perdition’s flame” is classic. I read this book out loud to my teenage daughter and we’d get bogged down in the digressions, but fun to talk about. All that being said, when he’s “on” Melville’s writing is AMAZING. I love the language, the symbolism, the imagery. Queequeg is our favorite character, just love him. Joyce’s “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” is also great, I really enjoyed it, especially the sermon on Hell -very memorable (and scary). His discussion of aesthetics is top notch as well. I’ve never read Ulysses. I’m a Tolkien fan too and have started the Silmarillion several times, but just can’t do it. The stuff at the end is good (what Peter Jackson’s movie starts with) but otherwise it’s a no-go. Great video and spot on, so fun. Thanks!

[@kristinmarra7005]

The Ambassadors by Henry James…short book but rough reading. I liked it but have no friends I’d recommend it to.

[@Read2live]

I love Henry James, including The Ambassadors, but I agree with you. It was difficult to read and it is from the books I like, but I don't recommend.

[@arekkrolak6320]

If you put The Silmarillion on the list you could as well put The Bible, as it was inspired by its style, also if you put Moby-Dick you could as well put Tristram Shandy for the same reason. Dubliners by Joyce is quite accessible and also well written

[@RWoodland57]

Thanks for this. Lately I’ve been taking time to revisit some of these. I finally read Ulysses with *some* pleasure, though it was more a feeling of satisfaction. You have inspired me to re-read “The Waste Land,” as a pleasure, not an assignment.

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

Mark Twain famously said : a classic is a book everybody praises but nobody reads. Well I disagree but it is certainly true for experimental novels (one exception : Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne

[@rohanrohilla1080]

What are you thoughts on Middlemarch by George Eliot? I found it difficult because it is very boring.

[@lindanorris2455]

UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!

[@williamgragilla7007]

YES! The Silmarillion is Awesome! I read 3 LOTR, Hobbit, Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, Children of Hurin, Fall of anime or. Ain’t nothing else out there quite like Silmarillion.

[@testcardII]

I usually like to research about a new book before reading it (but without the spoilers!); listen to podacasts and KZbin to give me some context.

[@englishnerd5580]

I don't do a ton of that myself, but I bet it would be helpful for some of those massive tomes--to see if you want to invest your energy into them!

[@Michajeru]

I certainly agree with you that Ulysses by James Joyce is difficult to read. But every classical literature maven declares it to be a work of genius. It is either very near the top or actually at the top of every list of the greatest books ever written. Why is this so? I have attempted to read Ulysses several times since the 1960s and never succeeded in finishing it. It certainly helps to read it together with an explanatory companion book such as 'Ulysses Unbound' by Terence Killeen (Penguin). Maybe I'm just a beggar for punishment but I think I'll have yet another go at reading it.

[@englishnerd5580]

Good luck!

[@zmani4379]

Nice video - when I think of something being designated as a "classic", then the image that comes to mind is of a mountain out there that's beckoning you to climb it, so it seems contradictory to me to avoid something like that on the grounds that it's challenging, if one is drawn to the idea of "classic" to begin with - another aspect is the question of "plot", which isn't always the only thing on the author's mind when creating the work - so "following the plot" may sometimes be less crucial than giving oneself over to the overall experience, and just taking it in as you go - tho of course, anyone may find this or that experience more or less rewarding than the other, and taking a certain approach w one may make that experience more rewarding - and I can see someone not feeling ready to tackle a particular work, and maybe hold off for a while, or take steps to feel more prepared - but, then again, if one feels one hasn't gotten the most out of it, one can always go back later and read it again lol - and even if one finds one didn't like the experience and doesn't feel inclined to revisit it, one still has the memory that experience in their lives now, like having visited a certain country - even if we don't feel like going back, that doesn't mean we regret going in the first place

[@devaanand1308]

hi , do you do reading and writing tutoring for middle schoolers ? if yes can you please let me know how to get the details

[@englishnerd5580]

I don't tutor at the moment, but there are plenty of helpful videos on the channel about how to write an essay, analyze a book, and even how to take good notes or prepare for an English test when you don't know what questions they'll ask about the story. Hope that helps!

[@davidallhusen]

Agreed. Although I believe I have a copy of ‘The Wasteland’ somewhere, and remember the Cliff Notes copy of ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ from a Russian literature course from my college days; the list stands as distant from reading. Might add Thomas Hardy to the list as well. Cheers!

[@englishnerd5580]

Oooh, Brothers K is a personal favorite of mine even though it made this list. I've only read Hardy's poetry, personally, but his novels look pretty tough!

[@sanelatutaris15]

@@englishnerd5580 Hardy is not tough AT ALL! He’s one of the best! Start with Tess. It’s one of my fav!

[@anitas5817]

If you want to dip into stream of consciousness writing, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is a short, quite accessible and simply excellent novel.

[@englishnerd5580]

Thanks for the suggestion! I have enjoyed some of her stream of consciousness short stories.

[@connieliao2024]

You should try reading Finnegan's Wake

[@jimpickard3850]

I've tried to read Ulysses twice and never got past the first 20 pages, but I WILL read it one day !

[@Tolstoy111]

The first two sections are fairly straight forward. The 2nd half of the novel is the tough part! Use Chris Reich's Guide to the novel on KZbin.

[@englishnerd5580]

Good luck! glad there are resources out there.

[@kirstencristobal3204]

I was expecting to see atleast one Faulkner or Pynchon here

[@williamgragilla7007]

Seriously, I’m a lifelong avid reader. I think of my entire reading career in two ways: before Brothers Karamazov, and after Brothers Karamazov. It’s a rite of passage.

[@lindanorris2455]

RIGHT ON!

[@richardjenkins4208]

Hi, Carly. You're a beautiful girl and your video is great, but don't write off Ulysses. If you feel that strongly about it it will continue to bug you, which is how I felt about Julius Caesar (Shakespeare) for 40 years.until I finally read it. Get it off your back and move on. You might even enjoy some of it.

[@billnoi]

Moby Dick is TEDIOUS.

[@mikeramsay5964]

The difficulty is what makes reading literature rewarding. If I wanted to read just to increase my "have read" list I'd read romance novels.

[@englishnerd5580]

Some of my favorite books have been labeled "too difficult" (Brothers K, Hamlet...) but easier reads have their place too. Maybe they won't have the rereadability or staying power, but popcorn entertainment is a valid reason to read too. :)

[@wallhagens2001]

Middlemarch. That was a slog.

[@englishnerd5580]

😂

[@carbonc6065]

You lost me from 3:04 - 3:08 ... That's COMPLETELY subjective--and you can't prove that ...