[COMPETITION: This list includes a competition.] There are many titles given to great literary works, and many awards to recognize truly great literature. This list wants to concentrate on the other side of the board: those books that are considered “classics,” but are in fact heavily overrated. These could be wildly popular books that were best sellers, but just weren’t that good, or books that are considered “among the best ever” by academics but fail as being readable or good literature beyond some fancy literary trick. In at least one case (see #10), this list also includes good books that are fun reads, but are rated way above the actual quality of writing. Here is the list of ten of the most overrated novels:
What better way to start a list than with controversy? “The Lord of the Rings” remains a cornerstone of the fantasy adventure genre, and the story is certainly epic. That being said, Tolkien was more of a professor and creative inventor than a writer, and that shows in these books. “The Hobbit” was by far and away the best written of all his works, and while the story from “The Lord of the Rings” is excellent and ambitious, the writing itself leaves a lot to be desired. There are the wandering plots, the many pages of details that are completely superfluous, and the often occurrence of “dues ex machine” to keep the plot moving. The story may be good, but for a series often considered one of the best of all time, the writing itself won’t measure up to that lofty praise.
Buy at Amazon: The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition
“A Passage to India,” is widely considered E.M. Forster’s best novel, and is still popular in academe. It is often hailed as an early radical work on race relations that was shocking at the time. Modern critics point out that as opposed to Hemingway, Joyce, Huxley, Sinclair Lewis, or other authors whose works are still popular outside of academic study, Forster’s characters sound like wooden caricatures. The writing is dated and slow, the “social commentary” questionable, and the Indian natives in this novel don’t seem that much different than the Brits, dulling it of the impact that the writers of the Harlem Renaissance had. These critics all have very valid points.
Buy at Amazon: A Passage to India (Penguin Classics)
This is a two for one deal. Don Delillo is absolutely adored by many English professors. His works are equally despised by many grad students and other English professors. These works seem to find the far majority of their fans among professors, while the common readers aren’t biting. Add the fact that just as many professors seem indifferent to these works, and Delillo can be considered badly overrated.
Buy at Amazon: White Noise (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
Ayn Rand might be the most divisive author not named L. Ron Hubbard. There’s also the chance she is just as divisive. While often pointed out as one of Rand’s “epic” works, “Atlas Shrugged” is a slow paced, thinly veiled, political and moral treatise whose hype is so far beyond the quality of the story that there was no way this book could avoid this list – even if it was generally considered a quality read by the majority of readers. [JFrater: you can't say we don't allow different opinions to have a voice on this site: this is one of my favorite books!]
Buy at Amazon: Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed. HC)
“A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking was nicknamed “The unread best seller,” by many critics who noted it was a best seller, but very few people actually read past the first few chapters. “100 Years” is the fictional equivalent. This is considered a genius work that is incredibly complex and ushered in magical realism as a genre, but when you need cliff notes as extensive as the book itself to kind of understand the plot, and this book is kept alive mostly by being taught in colleges, you have a problem. For a book that is almost a lock to be on any “100 best books ever” list, it is amazingly unreadable if you need to actually understand what’s going on.
Buy at Amazon: One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.)
This is a book loved by the masses, and isn’t thought of well at all by literature majors or professors. A lot of basic facts are wrong, the writing is poor and amateurish, the narrator mixes with the main character’s point of view, and there’s a lot of thinly veiled social opinions pushed forward as facts. Why is this novel not the most overrated of all time? Because a lot of readers already recognize this for what it is: a story with enough controversial elements and a good marketing gig to hit the best seller list, but a work that was not very well written at all, and a story with a ton of holes in it.
Buy at Amazon: The Da Vinci Code
The story behind this novel is fascinating: the author commits suicide after failing to find a publisher and ten years later the novel is published and wins the Pulitzer Prize. This is a story that is a somewhat modern and Americanized “Don Quixote.” The writing is fairly good, but this is a “funny” story that does enough to get an occasional smirk, but also throws out thirty jokes that just don’t do it. Following that, this book breaks one of the cardinal rules of literature: if you’re following one character as the ‘hero,’ he has to be someone the reader likes, or can at least sympathize with. This book is an acceptable read, but its reputation now grossly exceeds its actual quality.
Buy at Amazon: A Confederacy of Dunces
This book went out of print for nearly three decades. Yeah, Fitzgerald was that important. Then almost thirty years after the rest of the world moved on, two professors wrote a ton of academic papers about Fitzgerald’s “brilliance” in the 1960′s and this book was put back into print to be taught in every high school in the nation. You can almost hear the recurring groans of every student who has ever wondered how this lame rehashed soap opera was ever brought out of printing banishment.
Buy at Amazon: The Great Gatsby
This book is a classic because… well… there doesn’t seem to be much explanation for that. This was a highly ambitious book, and the Brontes did make a name for women authors, but just because a book was ground breaking at the time doesn’t mean it should remain a classic. Some books are horribly dated, badly structured, and not even all ground breaking books are well written. Many argue that “Wuthering Heights” is guilty of all three literary sins, and this novel’s extremely high place in the literary canon makes it number two on the overrated list.
Buy at Amazon: Wuthering Heights (Penguin Popular Classics)
Say what you will, but any book where pretty much nothing happens for 400 pages before the naïve girl suddenly matures and marries the much older man named “Mr. Knightly” (and lives happily ever after) should not be considered the greatest book ever. Through colleges and grad schools, many students have heard this book repeatedly called the perfect novel, the perfect plot, and the best novel ever written. It may have been ground breaking at the time, but it is now the equivalent of chick lit with a very basic plot that is heavily dated. It might be light summer reading for teenage girls, but it is not the best novel ever written by a long shot, making this the most overrated novel of all time.
Buy at Amazon: Emma (Barnes & Noble Classics)
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Contributor: Shane Dayton
I had to study Gatsby too
Didn’t find it that bad though tbh!
Ulysses by James Joyce. Has anyone actually read past the first chapter? How many of you, like me, were handed a reading list for a university English course, borrowed the book from the library, read the first few pages, thought WTF! and never picked it up again?
No. 19: Bullseye. Catcher in the Rye should certainly be on here. What a terrible book.
Add me to the list of people who agree with LOTR’s position on this list. Tolkien was a great linguist and had a wonderful imagination, but lacked in the writing department.
On the other hand, I think The Great Gatsby does a decent job reflecting the frivolity and excess of the 20s (write what you know, Fitzgerald), even if those things does make it seem like a “rehashed soap opera.”
I’d say Ulysses is overrated. Yes, it does a lot of new and interesting things, and I think it’s a very important work, but any work where the annotations are longer than the text itself makes me cringe. Far too self-referential.
I really liked Atlas Shrugged, The Great Gatsby, and Wuthering Heights. Though I’ll admit that John Galt’s radio speech in Atlas Shrugged is just unreadable.
Very Interesting List.
I agree about the “LOTR” books. I’ve actually enjoyed “The Great Gatsby”. I have not read these others, though I have read other works by Ayn Rand which were dull.
I also agree with other comments that “Twilight” is way overrated, because I tried to read that series and I could not even get passed the first thirty pages before designating it as ‘poorly written’. And it’s very uncommon for me not to finish a book once I’ve started it. Anyway, it’s too soon to call “Twilight” a ‘classic’.
Great list.
“American Psycho” is another very overrated book.
There is nothing wrong with using “deus ex machina” as a literary device. Many playwrights used it to help wrap up the plot for stage productions. But I may be a bit biased, I’ve been reading LOTR and the Hobbit for a decade now.
PS. I love Gatsby, I read it for fun! Again, another bias, I had a great professor teach it.
Aha – #128 posted while I was typing. I had to read it as a grad student and didn’t hate it, but I do hate that it’s usually first or second on top book lists.
88 astraya
A novel is fiction, true.
Then in my mind it stands to reason that the bible should be #1, it is a collection of stories that were being passed through the generations buy storytellers, who had to make their stories interesting or they wouldn’t get a feed or a bed for the night.
Some people, several hundred years after the events, decides that we’ll put them into a book, and tell everyone that this is the word of god. And if you don’t believe me, we will kill you.
As jfrater is always telling everyone, the lists are one persons view. In my view the bible is fiction.
This might seem minor, but y’know, errors add up…. Book titles should be italicized or underlined, not put in quotation marks.
Having just finished Atlas Shrugged I can say that I did enjoy it, although it did take me a couple of months to finish. I also enjoyed the LOTR trilogy, but I read those when I was a kid and much more fascinated by things like that. I have read The Da Vinci Code, and while I found it to be a good read, I do agree it is somewhat overrated.
Just after I finished reading it, I remember coming across a one sentence synopsis of the Lord of the Rings: “Short, hairy man throws ring in a volcano.” And I thought, “Yup. That’s pretty much it.” Maybe I was too old to read it, having graduated high school and all…
I dissagree with the comment on “Hitchhiker guide” also I was gonna add 2 books but i don’t think they qualify because they aren’t fiction but will add them anyway because they both get a lot of hype, they are “iron John” and “Zen and the art of motorcycle repair”
Da Vinci Code definitely – and all the people that got so upset cos it was claiming all these controversial conspiracy theories as fact! It was a novel for goodness sake.
But it better than other books by Dan Brown – he has written some of the worst dialogue I have ever read.
I agree with comment 124 – Hitchhikers is defo overrated – I loved it the first time I read it, but then when I read about 5 years ago I just got bored. I get very confusing and a tad pretentious. I love Douglas Adams’ ideas, but he milked it for far too long.
LOLR is still my favourite book!
comment 38 – that is the Absolute Truth!
have to say, i pretty much agree with this list (for as many of the books on it that i’ve read). there are a number of “classics” brought up in high school and college that are anything but moving, compelling literature. my least favorite “classic” ever: “the oxbow incident” ugh.. talk about a mind numbing waste of time.
and i’m sorry, but i have to say:
@#12 dimitar- seriously, leave your anti-american, hurt feelings banter somewhere else. i hate reading the lists and intelligent commentary only to find (rather consistently) some piece of “i hate america” buried within. write a “top 10 reasons america sucks” list and leave your comments there. i won’t read it, and i won’t care. being european doesn’t give you the right to judge me or my country and not all of america is the same, some parts suck and i can admit that. but the whole country isn’t full of the people you assume we are. so what if somebody doesn’t like a book you do? suck it up, it’s not because you’re european and the list writer appears to be american.
beets and ground eggs
I love how people keep thinking Jaime writes every list…
You need to make the size of the author bigger and bolder so people will stop being ninnys.
There should have been at least one Nicholas Sparks book on here…
A Passage to India: I fell asleep reading the novel and also fell asleep seeing the movie. I think this is somewhat amazing.
I cannot stand Jane Austen (even though I have only read one book..one was enough) so I was happy to see Emma in there. The Da Vinci Code is nothing but a cheap thriller. Its good if you are looking for a gripping page turner but it offers nothing and I mean NOTHING in terms description and imagery. To sum it up the book is simply a screenplay.
Wuthering Heights I found very enjoyable and felt it should not have made the list.
Of these, I’ve only read Lord of the Rings, and the beginning of Great Gatsby (I couldn’t keep my eyes open). I must be the freak, but I though LOTR was awesome from beginning to end. It might not conform to the usual expectations of a novel, but I found it a page turner!
As im sure others have noted i dont think it’s fair or correct to say that these are in fact overrated.
The Great Gatsby is THE WORST book Ive ever had the displeasure of reading/being forced to read. The definition of boring pointless garbage. I wish I had a copy nearby to burn. Lol sorry to the fans.
I keep hearing a lot of obsessive hype over Atlas but no one seems able to say why it’s good or what’s so interesting about it….?? Seems like people want to obsess over it because other people are….?
I found the Great Gatsby to be horribly overrated. It never seemed worthy of the acclaim most people attribute to it.
I didn’t read the Da Vinci Code until I’d read the predecessor to it, Angles and Demons and found the Da Vinci Code downright boring.
I wouldn’t put the LoTR trilogy on the list, there are others which are worse.
I agree with all but atlas shrugged. Its not “epic” because its a good read nor do people claim it to be a great read. Its “epic” because of the way the message that the novel is trying to teach is brought about.
I have to say that I’m a little disappointed by this list that does not live up to the usual standard on this site.
All of the books on the list may be overrated, but then even an excellent book can be overrated if some hype about it sets in. Most overrated? – I don’t see how any reasons you are giving do support that claim.
It is always dangerous to admit that one was just not up to the task of reading the book (as in item 6). Just because you found it hard to read, it doesn’t have to be bad writing.
And you explicitly state that item 8 is loved only by some professors, while others and most students allegedly despise it. That seems to conflict with your claim that the book is overrated.
The question emerging here is this: The books are overrated by whom?
In the case of Tolkien you obviously refer to fantasy readers. In the case of DeLillo its those few professors. In the case of Dan Brown the rating comes just through bookselling numbers. Sonmetimes its the academia, sometimes you do not tell us at all who overrates the book.
This lack of standard is regrettable. Since every book is overrated by someone, even by some group of readers, the whole idea of writing a list of the most overrated books crashes without a common standard.
m.
I could not agree more with The Conferacy of Dunces. When I was done reading it, I thought I might have missed something. ‘An occasional smirk’ was exactly my reaction, so I was little disappointed that it wasn’t ‘laugh out loud funny’ as I was told it would be. However, I did enjoy the book and I’m glad I got a chance to read it.
I have not read most of those books, which tells me something. I agree with Wuthering Heights (and I have read that one) being on the list. Someone else mentioned Hemingway, and I completely agree. Hemingway was the bane of my life in high school. His writing was so dumbed down and the dialogue b*****. He’s my least favorite author. Virginia Woolf comes a close second.
I’m surprised that someone names Emma has the best book ever written, according to its entry up there. I would not have chosen Emma as even the best book Jane Austen has ever written, and certainly not the best of all time.
Totally totally agree with the last two. I find a lot of books in that genre are incredibly boring and lack any sort of plot. I didn’t mind Wuthering Heights, but I only realized I kind of enjoyed it after being forced to read it in an english class.
I also agree with The DaVinci Code being up there, it always amazed me how much support that book actually got. People love to read controversy, even if it’s horribly inaccurate controversy.
And personally, I really like the LOTR trilogy…but I suppose this is a list about overrated novels, and I would agree they aren’t exactly the pinnacle of writing excellence.
While I might disagree a little with the inclusion of “Confederacy Of Dunces”, I thought this a very enjoyable list.
All the issues cited with “The Da Vinci Code” are the same ones that I had with “The Celestine Prophecy”.
Never trust a trendy novel that uses big type to flesh out the volume.
excuse me…the BIBLE anyone?????
I do not agree on One Hundred Years of Solitude being in this list. I don’t know what translation from Spanish to English did the author of this list read, but if you read it in Spanish it is very easy and fun to read. Also, you have to know Colombia’s culture to understand the novel.
"Who's John Galt"?
The rest of the list I can take or leave although I've read most of them–BUT "ATLAS SHRUGGED" ???–Surely you jest–Or maybe you're just trying to see what the reaction would be? "Atlas Shrugged" is arguably the most powerful novel ever written. Maybe you have it mixed up with "For Whom The Bell Tolls"-Talk about "slow-moving"–
Wishing John Galt had continued to remain that anonymous!
B-On (133) Bret Easton Ellis is a woefully underrated author. Half the people who have seen the movie don’t even know it was a book.
And as my .2, I think Confederacy of Dunces should automatically be replaced by Catcher In Ihe Rye or On The Road. I don’t mind On The Road, but I’m really tired of it being the hipster bible.
I agree with Gatsby, i will never get those forced hours of reading back…
Gatsby is something everyone loves or hates… there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground… with that said I loved it.
Yeah, Ulysses is bunk. It’s touted by people who think they have to say good things about it (even though they haven’t read it) because of professors who say good things about it because *they* think they have to. It’s all a bit scam and nobody has yet realized, apparently, that Joyce was pranking the entire literary world (stupidly gullible as it was in the early 20th century [and still is]) with Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake.
Anyway, the complaints about Tolkien are nonsense, and the inclusions of A Confederacy of Dunces and The Great Gatsby are bogus, of course. Wuthering Heights has a certain something to it, but it certainly is tiresome in a way. The rest I’d probably agree with, but I haven’t read most of them. Emma probably doesn’t belong on the list, given the quality of what I’ve read of Austen.
Regardless, I’m always in favor of book lists, so bravo!
You could throw Fear and Loathing on there. Why people love that book I cannot figure out. And…Hunter S. was a dick.
I do agree with DaVinci Code. The first time I read it (drank the Kool-Aid) I loved it. By the third time I was sick of all of the “facts” you had to accept to enjoy the story.
WHERE is ULYSSES?!?!? by james joice! it’s praised as one of the best pieces of literature of all time and it’s so out there. to the point where appreciating its stream of consciousness requires too much effort to care.
I like the Great Gatsby, but I do agree that it is overrated and does not need to be taught in schools as much as it is. The Da Vinci Code was not very good, but Angels and Demons was. I also feel that there are some other books I recall reading in English class that were terribly overrated for me. Maybe this list should have a part 2?
Atlas Shrugged is one of my favorite books, only because of implications of a society existing like that in the book.
I have, almost happily I guess I should say, only read one other book on this list, The DaVinci Code. I was not all that impressed with the book, the plot, everything. As for the rest, I don’t think I have an interest in reading them after reading the reviews here!
Great list!
Here’s the thing about the DaVinci Code. I’ve never heard anyone call this a “great work of literature.” The reason this is such a pop-culture icon is because of sales and controversey. In these aspects no one argue it is overrated.
Wuthering Heights is epic-level literary failure. I’m glad that’s finally being recognized.
I would definately agree with LOTR’s…the hobbit was really good, but I could never get into the trilogy…
I loved “The Great Gatsby”! It’s one of the few books that I’ve read more than once and one that I could read over and over again.
I would put “Foundation” on this list. I love Asimov but I found this book to be horribly boring and very, very dated. The “Robots” series on the other hand are fabulous must reads.
I’m also surprised “The Catcher in the Rye” wasn’t on this list. I tried to read that book twice and could never get more than about ten pages into it. Why the hell is that book so popular?
What’s with people talking about Shakespeare, the Bible, or other holy books? THOSE AREN’T NOVELS GENIUSES. You’d think people could read the topic of the list at least. You’d also think people could engage in civil discourse without always having to pop in with anti-religious sentiment just because that’s the thing fifteen-year-old psedo-atheists do. But no, this is the internet, isn’t it?
And enough of the “literature is subjective” nonsense. There’s a subjective aspect to the appreciation of art, but it’s built on the objective nature and standard of beauty. Good is good and bad is bad and they’re only messed up in YOUR mind because you’ve given in to the art culture that KILLED art last century. Sucks to be you, but the rest of us aren’t biting.
When I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy, instantly I wanted nothing more than to read the books. Some Steven King novels inspired me to read the book if I had seen the movie. Dreamcatcher (while most people hated the movie itself, imagine…nasty eelish aliens in alaska…sweet!) was one of these types of movies. The movie left hundreds of plot holes throughout which forced me to read the book. The book filled in every hole while being more of a absorbing story.
The Lord of the Rings movies were incredible though. I needed to read every book ever written by Tolkien. The Hobbit kept my hopes alive with an incredible story (the ending sucked though…how lame “THE EAGLES ARE COMING” then he is knocked out, missing the entire fight). When I got to the trilogy, I had to force myself through the first 3 or 4 chapters, struggling to understand all the connections and the pointlessness of most of the dialog. Watching the Return of the King and expecting the most epic of all books because of it, I read every word of it! Wanting the final epic struggle between Frodo, Smeegle, and the Ring, to be the most intense part, expecting a near poetry of word. I got nothing. Damn Tolkien.
Randle (Clerks II, an even better movie than Lord of the Rings) got it right when he hated the “trilogy.” The books were about nothing…but walking…
BTW The Hobbit should be made into a movie.
I didn’t read the other comments but while skimming I saw at least one other person who agrees with this: Confederacy of Dunces is an awesome book that gave me belly laughs. It does NOT belong on this list.
171. You can get off your soap box now…
YOU DIDN’T PUT THAT PIECE OF ***** TWILIGHT IN HERE!?
It’s “Deus ex Machina” Not “Dues ex Machine”.
Deus ex Machina is “God from the Machine”
What about some of Anne Rice’s books? I like her, but when I tried to read Violin…oh my God it was painful. You couldn’t follow what she wanted in the plot line.
Sometimes I think Harry Potter is a bit overrated.
i agree with snowkid… i havent read a book since tommyland and the heroin diaries…. but im pretty sure twilight sucked
Out of all the ones I have tried to read from that list, I most definitely agree!
Haha and yes, Twilight SHOULD be in there!
Don’t disagree with anything I’ve seen – would like to add “The Godfather.” The book was horrible, the writing very basic and amateurish. The ideas are fantastic, however, and we’d never seen anything like it when it was published.
If Twilight is considered a classic in 40 years then you are definitely right. It wasn’t a bad read though if you take it at face value.
I enjoyed Angels and Demons a lot more than DaVinci Code.
Great list, although I’ve only read a few of the books I must agree with them. The DaVinci Code was merely an interesting read, kinda the same as flipping on the TV and watching Simpsons or something. Entertaining while its on, but your not gonna take anything worthwhile away from the experience.
As for Lord of the Rings, sadly I must agree with you, even though it is one of my favorites. Several times while reading it, I skipped over pages of detail. But perhaps this is the reason why such a successful movie could be made out of it. Actually the movie was one of the rare instances where I’ve read the book first then the movie and not been disappointed. And you’re right Tolkien is far from a writer, but he does create a whole universe, with its own history, races, and languages (Elvish is actually a language!) which really gives the story depth that other fantasies lack.
I highly agree with the Da Vinci Code and the Great Gatsby being on this list, also not a fan of Harry Potter (I just don’t think those books are well-written).