Group Read, May 2023: The Sea

Our May group read is The Sea by John Banville. Please join in the read and post any comments on this thread.

I'm going to read this and start it soon. I've never read anything by John Banville and this has been on my shelf for quite a while.

Hmmm. I’ve read the first 50 pages (out of 195) and I’m not enjoying it. The narrator seems fussy and judgy and uses obscure vocabulary just to sound smart.
I’ve had very little patience for finishing books I don’t enjoy, so I’m thinking about setting this aside.

>3 japaul22: I've enjoyed some of Banville's books including The Untouchable and Shroud. I liked The Sea less so if you do give up on the book, don't necessarily give up on the author.

>4 puckers: someone else told me the same thing about liking The Untouchable. I’ll keep that on my list.

I stopped reading as many 1001 books a few years ago because there were so many that I was choosing that I didn’t really enjoy. So I made a firm commitment to myself to keep trying books from the list, because I know there are lots of fantastic ones, but to not feel like I have to complete the ones I try and aren’t for me!

I read this a long time ago but I see that my review said "beautiful writing, not much to say." And indeed, I remember nothing about it. I too did like The Untouchable which I read even longer ago.