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Complex, Difficult Books That Are Worth the Effort It Takes to Read Them

Our maverick English Teacher and contrarian comes up with 60 works of fiction whose range of ideas, complexity of structure, and use of language all contribute to their reputations of being difficult. All of them, however, are , in the compiler's opinion, well worth the effort it takes to read them. To those wondering why "Finnegan's Wake" and "In Search of Lost Time" are absent, our compiler can only say that, in his humble opinion, they weren't worth it. Mea culpa.
2,641 users · 7,350 views
 
made by James Loranger
avg. score: 6 of 60 (10%)
required scores: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 
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1Q84 (Haruki Murakami)
1Q84
1
Haruki Murakami
2666 (Roberto Bolaño)
2666
2
Roberto Bolaño
And Quiet Flows the Don (Mikhail Sholokhov)
And Quiet Flows the Don
3
Mikhail Sholokhov
August 1914 (Solzhenitsyn)
August 1914
4
Solzhenitsyn
Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
Bleak House
5
Charles Dickens
The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Brothers Karamazov
6
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Castle (Franz Kafka)
The Castle
7
Franz Kafka
Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
Cloud Atlas
8
David Mitchell
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
9
The Crying of Lot 49 (Thomas Pynchon)
The Crying of Lot 49
10
Thomas Pynchon
Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson)
Cryptonomicon
11
Neal Stephenson
Demons (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
Demons
12
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
13
Miguel De Cervantes
Dune (Frank Herbert)
Dune
14
Frank Herbert
The Erasers
The Erasers
15
The Fermata (Nicholson Baker)
The Fermata
16
Nicholson Baker
The First Circle (Solzhenitsyn)
The First Circle
17
Solzhenitsyn
Foucault's Pendulum (Umberto Eco)
Foucault's Pendulum
18
Umberto Eco
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow
19
Thomas Pynchon
The Greek Passion (Kazantzakis)
The Greek Passion
20
Kazantzakis
Group Portrait With Lady (Bõll)
Group Portrait With Lady
21
Bõll
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Haruki Murakami)
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
22
Haruki Murakami
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Heart of Darkness
23
Joseph Conrad
House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski)
House of Leaves
24
Mark Z. Danielewski
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (Charles Yu)
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
25
Charles Yu
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (Italo Calvino)
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
26
Italo Calvino
In Sunlight and in Shadow (Mark Helprin)
In Sunlight and in Shadow
27
Mark Helprin
Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)
Infinite Jest
28
David Foster Wallace
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke)
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
29
Susanna Clarke
The Last Temptation of Christ (Nikos Kazantzakis)
The Last Temptation of Christ
30
Nikos Kazantzakis
Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Robbe-Grillet)
Last Year at Marienbad
31
Alain Robbe-Grillet
Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
Les Miserables
32
Victor Hugo
Libra (Don Delillo)
Libra
33
Don Delillo
Man's Fate (André Malraux)
Man's Fate
34
André Malraux
March 1917 (Solzenhitsyn)
March 1917
35
Solzenhitsyn
The Mezzanine
The Mezzanine
36
Moby-Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby-Dick
37
Herman Melville
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
The Name of the Rose
38
Umberto Eco
Nostromo (Conrad - Penguin Classics))
Nostromo
39
Conrad - Penguin Classics)
November 1916 (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)
November 1916
40
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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