Friday, March 25, 2011

The Year's First Defeat

I did not finish Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

I read fifty pages as I customarily do with a new book to try to get a feel for things; nothing.  I read another fifty pages due to reputation and all the praise I've heard.  It wasn't for me.  Furthermore this isn't one I plan on re-visiting.  I'll be trading it in tomorrow morning.

It's easy to read and I could have powered through, but there was nothing of remote interest happening for me.  That book nearly killed me, "So it goes."

It had to happen sometime.  

2 comments:

Marion said...

Two things: Do you have a personal rule about finishing books? I have some friends who do. I don't. If I hate something, I stop reading it.

You and I have discussed before whether things become so dated that they no longer carry the writer's message. I would have to re-read Slaughterhouse Five but I wonder if that's the problem.

Chad Hull said...

I used to have that rule. I have since gotten over it. I don't hesitate to put things down any more. You've got fifty pages to intrigue me in some way; past that, I'm moving on.

I can't put a finger on my immediate problem with Slaughterhouse Five. (I probably could if I finished it.) I considered powering through it, but no.