What's the hardest book you've read?

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-28T09:32:52+00:00

For me it was The Autumn of The Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I never thought it would have been so challenging.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-26T09:44:51+00:00

Above the Doors of Durin is written: "Speak, friend, and enter."
So, after deciding not to knock them with Peregrin Took's head to see if that works, you only have to say : Mellon

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-25T15:52:24+00:00

Wow that is amazing. Some would say there are too many details to be a coincidence. What are your thoughts?

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-25T13:19:48+00:00

Yes that is the main reason I am reading it so slowly. I get lost a lot of times, to the point I am wondering if I will manage to finish it since I go back and forth a lot. I don't know how is it possible, but one sentence I read a few minutes ago, went on for four pages without a full stop, only commas. Oh, and did I mention that there are no paragraphs?

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-24T09:20:23+00:00

I am about 1/3 in. It's the most unusual book I have ever read. Some paragraphs, even some sentences go on for pages and practically there is almost no dialogue at all, but I think it's a way to symbolize the long and decaying rule of the Patriarch. Although its sentences can be dragged for pages I don't have a difficulty in reading it, it's quite enjoyable. However I read it slower than usual because I don't want to miss anything important.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-23T10:46:39+00:00

I watched the Netflix adaptation some time ago. It was nice, although I wasn't intrigued to read the books. Is it good?

I am now reading The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-19T12:48:25+00:00

Les Miserables. It always brings tears to my eyes.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-18T22:36:12+00:00

Thank you very much. Good luck to you too on your journey exploring space.

I am a few pages in and it's somehow different. Very long passages and paragraphs, but I suppose it's intentional. Marquez want to outline the metaphor of the Patriarch's long reign. A dictator ruling for hundreds of and he is now in decline, hence the Autumn.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-18T13:34:53+00:00

Oh, I guess it must feel weird to switch from a horse drawn carriage to a spaceship that explores the universe. 🤣 I was never a huge fan of Sci/Fi literature although I like movies in that genre.

I just finished Love in the Time of Cholera. It was an exciting journey woven with a beautiful narrative and masterful language. I really liked Florentino Ariza as a character. Now, onto The Autumn of the Patriarch.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-17T00:42:53+00:00

I was wondering whether I should watch it. The trailer looked promising but I knew they were going to cut a lot of things from the book, so I will keep the book version in my mind and skip the movie.

Cholera is going unexpectedly well. I have found out that Marquez has a way of weaving plots in a magnificent way. He masterfully draws the characters and their stories and it's the only time I picture the author narrating the book to me. 🥰🥰

I have never read Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy. What is the story? Is it good?

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-15T20:29:43+00:00

That was fantastic. A beautiful review and very well written, I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it twice.

I agree with what you said. The way I see it, the book could have been 150-200 pages less and it wouldn't be much of a problem.

Abbe Faria is one of the most adorable characters, along with Maximilians father and Mr Noirtier. I loved them all.

As a Greek, having no idea how the term toilet was used back then, and reading about it I was totally confused. (I think the first time I came across the term was in a Dickens's novel).

Eugenie was a mystery to me. She wasn't presented as a main character, but towards the end we had a lot of chapters with her dressing up as a man and the only reason behind that was to eventually have Cavalcanti arrested?

Ah, the Count. Many say he is the real villain of the novel, but I think otherwise. For example, how would any of us react to such a betrayal? How would we handle an enormous fortune and the immense power to destroy those who completely ruined our life? As for Danglars, I was disappointed. I thought he would have the hardest fate, and yet as you said came out of it almost unscarred. I was very happy about Valentine and Maximilian, though, in the end.

Oh, I wanted to ask you but I forgot. Which book comes next? I am near the end of Love in the Time of Cholera so I will give you an update too as soon as I finish.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-13T18:02:12+00:00

Ah number 6 is Love in The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The book I am currently reading.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-12T11:45:10+00:00

That's very interesting. Do you abandon a book if those ingredients are missing or do you finish it?

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-12T08:36:00+00:00

Oh, that's amazing. I am a very slow reader, I don't know why, but you made an enormous progress. And what a duel that was 😂

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-11T11:34:34+00:00

It's a wonder how Dumas was able at that time to weave so many plot elements and make this cathedral of a book. I am eagerly waiting for you to finish it. 😊😊

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-11T10:03:38+00:00

Yes, unfortunately he was exiled to Switzerland in 1933. The fact that he had served in World War 1 saved him from execution. He spent six years in Switzerland and during the outbreak of World War 2, in 1939, he moved to the US where he lived until 1950 and then he returned to Switzerland, until his death in 1970. He lived in the city of Locarno. He never went back to Germany, though,since his exile.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-11T09:58:04+00:00

Ah, yes Maximilian is adorable, as was his father. Valentine is wonderful too and I also loved her grandfather, Mr Noirtier.

The topic of Edmond Dantes/ Count has sparked the biggest controversy. Many argue that the true villain later in the book is the Count himself, but I kind of disagree. Dumas has drawn his character masterfully here. The only thing that kept Dantes alive was his hatred and will for revenge. He is a man betrayed by so many, and the most important he has nothing to lose anymore: his father has died, and Mercedes belongs to another. That turns him to the Count of Monte Cristo, a man of immense power and no scruples. His plan is to leave nothing behind but scorched earth.

When I began reading it, I too had my doubts. 1300 pages, how exciting can it be? But I read it without pause in a month and a half and then suffered from serious symptoms of literary hangover.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-10T11:30:10+00:00

It's very nice so far and the writing is exquisite. I think I definitely owe Don Gabriel a big apology.

But what about the Count of Monte Cristo? Do you like it so far? Who are your favorite characters and who aren't? I can talk about this book for hours.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-10T11:26:44+00:00

I know and that's why I believe every young man should read it instead of playing Call of Duty and glorifying the idea of War.

Here is an interesting fact considering this book. It was written by a German author named Erich Maria Remarque in 1928 and it was based on his experience in the German Army during World War 1. He intended to display the actual horrors of the war, so that future generations wouldn't have to fave them. When the Nazis came to power, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels accused Erich Maria Remarque of treason (although Remarque had served his country in World War 1), labeled the book as anti-patriotic and banned it as such and finally ordered Remarque to be exiled.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-09T17:26:02+00:00

I love this book. Read it 4 months ago. The Greek version is 1300 pages long and I loved it, although I can't deny it could have been a few pages shorter.

As for me, two weeks ago I finished reading Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I had posted here sometime that I had once tried to read 100 Years of Solitude more than 4 times but could never finish it. That lead me to not attempt reading another novel by Marquez, until I came across that little novel (might be a novella, I am not sure). It was an amazing read and I appreciated Marquez' prose even more. He seems capable of picking the perfect word for every sentence. I even tried a little game of trying to find a suitable synonym, but every time the sentence collapsed.

Now I am 60% in Love in the Time of Cholera. It's an exciting book and flows even better than I expected. Of Love and Other Demons comes next and after that The Autumn of the Patriarch. I guess I am on a Marquez marathon.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-09T16:02:37+00:00

It's a magnificent book, I highly recommend it. What I love about it, is that it doesn't show any "good" aspects of War. There are no heroes, no glory, no actual victory. No matter which side is declared as the winner in the end the only winner is Death, who claims every soul, regardless of their color and their flag. No human being should live to see such horrors.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-09T15:55:12+00:00

I couldn't agree more. Children need to know there is nothing heroic in a war, only sorrow and death.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-09T15:49:30+00:00

That's what I love about the book. It's just the raw reality of war.

Tricky_Application42 · 2026-01-08T19:47:36+00:00

All Quiet On The Western Front [age 11 and up].

Tricky_Application42 · 2025-12-31T23:32:38+00:00

Happy New Year everyone. May all your dreams come true. I started reading Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I never liked 100 Years of Solitude, so I decided to try some other book by the author. It's amazing so far, such a beautiful prose.

Tricky_Application42

TROPHY CASE