Books I Loathed discussion

Did anyone out there hate Rushdie's Fury? I've read over and over that the lead character becomes so likeable, that we see into his soul and begin to understand him...and I couldn't find anything sympathetic or empathetic in him. Am I just looking at it from the wrong cultural/age/sympathetic perspective?

One article I read did suggest that the issue of incest was handled with a lot less depth than Rushdie usually uses. Maybe this made a difference?

If you loved it, I would love to hear why. I feel like I'm missing something on this one.

I hated that book more than any other book I've ever finished on my own. It was the only book I took with me on a trip to the Philippines, otherwise I never would have read it.

You are not alone, and you're certainly not wrong. Don't second guess yourself! The book is garbage. Banal observations and trite social commentary, hollow characters and arrogant, verbose language...I could go on, but you already read it so you know. This book should be banned from the Earth.

I just gave up on Shalimar the Clown -- it was a struggle just to make it to page 31. I normally read at night before bed to "turn off the brain" and escape into another world, but I could not turn off the brain because his verbose prose / Faulkner-ish style was so flipping confusing... I thought maybe it was because I was not reading it when I've got enough concentration power, so I gave it a go again this afternoon, and felt the same darn way. This REALLY felt as painful as reading Faulkner in high school, but this time with no teacher, no exam, no paper to write, so I just QUIT. I think this makes the 2nd "quit" for this year, which says a lot. This was my first forray into Salman Rushdie, and I can say with confidence that I am NOT going back, ever ever again.

My mom liked Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Apparently it was weird, but worth reading. I read the first couple pages and it seemed interesting. I haven't read anything else of his though.