I like to keep things positive and civil on the library blog, but I guess the negative reviews can be just as helpful– so here’s a book that didn’t live up to the hype, in my opinion:
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Being a children’s classic and very well-loved, I was kind of surprised I hadn’t already read this book before last year. Maybe it’s because I am an adult now and don’t enjoy things in the same way children do (although I obviously love children’s literature, so I doubt that’s true), but I limped through half of this book and actually had to stop. The reason was that this book is full of literal puns– that’s basically the whole premise of the story; the main character travels to a land where everything is described literally by its name. It’s reminiscent of The Pilgrim’s Progress, for frame of reference. To me, it’s incredibly unimaginative writing. Children will still understand the meaning if you inject a few subtle metaphors!
I do enjoy clever puns here and there, but a book full of them was a little much for me– if you can’t get enough of them, this book is definitely for you. Check it out from our catalog by clicking the picture or the title above.
Curious about the rest of my answers? Find a list of them here.
[…] Day 8: Most Overrated Book […]
I think you may need to re-read The Pilgrim’s Progress…. I don’t think it deserves to be lumped together with this!