Nicholas ([info]nhw) wrote,
@ 2008-06-01 20:41:00
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Entry tags:bookblog 2008, reading resolutions 2008

June Books 1) Little, Big
1) Little, Big, by John Crowley

I know this is a heretical view, given that this is such a popular and well-loved book, but I found it terrifically tough going. Some good paragraphs, some nice hints at what is going on behind the scenes, but I had to force myself to finish it. Maybe I am just too old to appreciate it properly.


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[info]grahamsleight
2008-06-01 06:59 pm UTC (link)
I know of only one person who strongly disliked it, calling it "spectacularly boring". However, that was Orson Scott Card.

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[info]nhw
2008-06-01 07:04 pm UTC (link)
Gulp!

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[info]hells_librarian
2008-06-01 07:47 pm UTC (link)
Oh, hahaha, ouch.

Little, Big has been on my to-read list for years. The pressure to enjoy it is on now. ;)

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[info]cassave
2008-06-02 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Well, I agree with Orson Scott Card.

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[info]nickbarnes
2008-06-01 07:27 pm UTC (link)
Burn, heretic, burn!

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[info]wyvernfriend
2008-06-01 09:43 pm UTC (link)
I read it when I was younger and didn't really enjoy it either.

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[info]andrewducker
2008-06-01 09:53 pm UTC (link)
Got 1/3 of the way through. Lost momentum. Will go back some day.

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[info]chilperic
2008-06-01 10:03 pm UTC (link)
Oh, it's confession time! Great! Well, I have tried reading Little, Big three times now, and have not yet managed to get to the end. I find it too disorienting; I am just not sure what is happening in the story. Mind you, Crowley's Engine Summer is one of my very favourite sf books, and that is disorienting too, but somehow that does not seem to bother me. I suspect I shall keep trying at Little, Big, though. Maybe one day I shall be old enough to appreciate it properly...

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[info]hfnuala
2008-06-01 10:48 pm UTC (link)
I thought it was beautiful and never managed to finish it. I intend to return when I regularly get 8 hours sleep.

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[info]bluetyson
2008-06-02 01:29 am UTC (link)
You are not the only one, I just didn't force myself to finish it.

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[info]wwhyte
2008-06-02 03:08 am UTC (link)
I read it twice, ten years apart, and loved it both times, though I felt the end dissolved into a wisp of smoke rather than tying everything up. I thought the atmosphere was great but also loved how it was about growing up -- however, arguably, I hadn't actually finished growing up either time I read it so maybe that bit wouldn't impress me so much if I read it again.

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[info]vasha7
2008-06-02 03:28 am UTC (link)
I read it all the way through, but wasn't particularly impressed (some great scenes, but they got buried). If the commenters on this thread are any indication, your impression that this book is widely beloved is mistaken!

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