His name looks wrong without the "S" just doesn't roll off the tongue right.

He really was one of a kind though, his escapades with the Hells Angels was nuts.

Interesting viewpoint. I always felt I was drawn to his writing because it was so wildly different from my life experience.

He lived a wildly different life from the ones anyone has lived.

Spoiler for The Bible: Jesus dies.

I don’t see how you could go through western life without picking up on the plot just by cultural osmosis.

What kind of lame, half-mad bullshit are you trying to sneak over on us? When Rolling Stone asks for “a thinkpiece”, goddamnit, we want a fucking Thinkpiece… and don’t try to weasel out with any of your limey bullshit about a “50,000 word novella about the condition humaine, etc…”

A morsel of Hunter Thompson's legendary rejection letter to, uh, Anthony Burgess...

I didn’t find either book unreadable but I didn’t really care for Ove or Eleanor.

He lived such a wildly different life from the one that I've lived or would ever choose to live, that I haven't ever really been able to enjoy his writing, unfortunately.

Prospero's in Kansas City.

I've read this book, and although it never really stayed with me, it sounds like something completely different from my experience with it. She's not a perfect character to be sure, but... that was kind of the point? Not every main character should be likeable, just like not every book should be finished if you're not enjoying it.

“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.”

It was sooo bad.

I came here to say THE BOOKLOFT!!! I have lived in Columbus, STL, and Minneapolis and I miss The Bookloft most of all…while in German Village, stop in any of the bakeries also.

Lit on fire, Peoria IL!

I'll agree that the character development is a bit slow moving. Didn't mind this personally. Although I understand if you don't enjoy it.

The friendship between Eleanor and her male colleague is worth sticking around for. It's surprisingly satisfying to read and extremely patiently and maturely handled. I've rarely actually come across something like this, or at least one that was brought off so smoothly. Unsure whether you're at the point of seeing that really develop, but personally found it was extremely satisfying.

The book does build up towards a strong conclusion, one that I would consider to pay off, but it's more than understandable if you find that it's taking too long to get there, especially with the difficulties of Oliphant's character.

And finally - Good on you for recognising it if you're not enjoying it. Sounds strange, but that's not always easy to do.

I liked it, but I like reading about deeply flawed characters. Eleanor isn't an easy character, but she felt three-dimensional and was easy to empathize with.

I also appreciated that the author gave her real personality issues (and fairly unusual ones at that) instead of making her mostly perfect with a token "flaw" that isn't actually that important in the name of believability, which seems to be the approach that many contemporary authors take.

The Man in the High Castle is definitely a book that stays with you. Dick even said that he refused to revisit it because it took such a toll on him to write it. (That said, it has an amazing tv adaptation that differs enough that both stand on their own as related, but separate entities)

Oh my god what a slog to read! I didn't even finish it!

Get an ereader, it’s better for your eyes

All your issues with Eleanor are resolved in the final chapter. If you don't want to reach the end of the journey that's fine tho. There is real joy at her redemption. Find out a bit odd you complain about her being boring and mundane because that's precisely the point, she is, but through unexpected friendships this changes too.

Oooooh that sounds magical.

same

The main character dies near the beginning of the sequel, but it kinda sets it up. Gets a bit samey and repetitive after that, except the ending, which is insane.

Physical.. I love the feel and smell

Yes!

• click the middle button at the bottom (hamburger icon)
• under help and support, click settings
• find "read books with..."
• click that, then click kindle when prompted for a preference in where to send books
• you should be redirected to amazon at this point to link your accounts. Sign in and verify.

I finished it but I HATED Eleanor