Difficult Novels

Have you read a difficult book lately?

There are lots of top ten “Hard to Read Novels' lists out there, some of which are filled with heavy content and others which are filled with heavy volumes. Following is a link to goodreads Most Difficult Novels as voted by its membership. http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/827.Most_Difficult_Novels

Most of my successful difficult reads came when I was younger and before family and career took over my priorities. Once that happened I had to become more judicious with my time. (Time is money after all.) I've had to weigh the perceived value of the content against the actual value of my time, determine its ROI. For me, the hard to read novels lose out here.

As an example I'll pick on Finnegan's Wake. I would like to read it. I have tried to read it. Can there be anything in its content worth my time and effort to extract it? For me that answer was “no” - two different times. Rightly or wrongly, I've decided the value in reading the novel is in the deed.

I think accessibility is important for a writer. As a writer, if you want to be read, you have to be readable. I also think that James Joyce would say that he is accessible to his readers.

George W Parker