Ah, well, as one of the people who loved it and recommended it to you, I'm sorry that it didn't fit.
Though I understand what you mean... although I personally very much like Maud (which given my strong predilection for characters-i-like, is probably what saved the present-day stuff for me), and empathize with Roland (though I don't much like his character, I... identify with parts of it)-- and I just adore the poets (I suspect they laugh, if no one else does)-- I can see that the other characters could leave one with a slightly annoyed taste.
(This discussion reminds me a little of Doomsday Book in this way-- have you read this?-- which also alternates between present-day-slightly-future and long-past, where the present-day stuff is kind of irritating in a supposedly-comedic sort of way, and the long-past is just heartbreaking. And I know a lot of people who hated the book because they got annoyed at the present-day stuff, whereas I mostly have forgotten about those parts and love it for the long-past bits.)
And it's telling that although I do love the book, and it really is one of my favorites, it's never been one of my comfort reads, the way most (all?) of my other favorites are. It's like it's a favorite because I admire its beauty rather than because I adore its soul.
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Though I understand what you mean... although I personally very much like Maud (which given my strong predilection for characters-i-like, is probably what saved the present-day stuff for me), and empathize with Roland (though I don't much like his character, I... identify with parts of it)-- and I just adore the poets (I suspect they laugh, if no one else does)-- I can see that the other characters could leave one with a slightly annoyed taste.
(This discussion reminds me a little of Doomsday Book in this way-- have you read this?-- which also alternates between present-day-slightly-future and long-past, where the present-day stuff is kind of irritating in a supposedly-comedic sort of way, and the long-past is just heartbreaking. And I know a lot of people who hated the book because they got annoyed at the present-day stuff, whereas I mostly have forgotten about those parts and love it for the long-past bits.)
And it's telling that although I do love the book, and it really is one of my favorites, it's never been one of my comfort reads, the way most (all?) of my other favorites are. It's like it's a favorite because I admire its beauty rather than because I adore its soul.