SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
oiveah

How long do you give a book before you decide to give up on it?

oiveah
11 years ago

I am reading The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Maruqez. This is the sixth book of his I will have read when I finish it. It has taken me four days to get through 156 pages. I guess that is okay except that I have basically been a bum these past four days and I could have finished the book in one day because I had the time (the book is only 255 paqes long).

The book is six chapters, each chapter is one paragraph that runs 40-50 pages long. The last chapter is one super-long sentence. The sentences switch speakers mid-sentence, punctuation isn't used aside from periods and commas and it is difficult to find a place to put the book down because the paragraphs run so long. Garcia Marquez is quite brilliant at setting a tone and establishing an alternative universe, but I don't find myself caring. YET I know I will complete the book because I have never put a book down in my 30 years of existence.

How much time do you give a book? I once heard that those of us who never give up on books would make poor investors because we are likely to throw good money after bad.

Comments (23)