Everyone talks about the things they like, but no one speaks more than a syllable about things they hate – the same goes for novels. In fact, many popular novels, which are considered classics, are also categorized as the most hated. It can be said that readers, most of the time, love and hate the same stories. That means that even though the novels are generally popular, they still remain some of the most hated literature of all the time, either by critics or readers or both.
You’d be surprised to read some of the titles included here but the reason will definitely have you gasping in understanding!
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Fifty Shades – E. L. James:
Reading erotic literature is nothing new for the readers – the only catch is that it should be interesting and well written so that everyone can enjoy it fully. E. L. James’ Fifty Shades series, however, is neither interesting nor well written. What started off as a Twilight Saga fanfiction – seriously, why is everyone writing fan fiction that gets published these days? – became a sensational hit, even more so when the series got adapted into movies.
It’s where a college graduate gets involved with a young businessman, who is very much into BDSM. The story then progresses to them finding love and all the jazz. Critics have, however, bashed the books with a passion, pointing out the poor narration, wildly inaccurate depiction of BDSM and promotion of an abusive relationship. Salman Rushdie’s thoughts on these books are enough – “I’ve never read anything so badly written that got published.”
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The Twilight Saga – Stephanie Meyer:
Who is not familiar with The Twilight Saga? If you need a little introduction, it’s the series that inspired Fifty Shades of Grey, the series that is always compared with the Harry Potter Series – and fails miserably in that competition – and the series that is hated even by the actors who played the characters on the big screen. You read about Bella Swan, an awkward, clumsy and fearless (in a sense) girl who stumbles across a vampire, Edward Cullen and gets sucked into the supernatural world. There are toxic friendships and relationships, controlling love, violent scenes that aren’t teen-appropriate and problematic storylines throughout (that’s a nod to Renesmee and Jacob).
Actor Robert Pattinson – who played the character of Edward in the movie adaptions – even said, “… and it was like it was a book that wasn’t supposed to be published.” That’s telling enough, isn’t it?
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The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown:
Dan Brown has always written really good books – more brownie points for the beloved character of Robert Langdon being the protagonist. The Da Vince Code is one such masterpiece, which became a readers’ favourite rather quickly. This mystery novel took us on the journey to find the Holy Grail, one of the most significant objects in Christian mythology. The narrative is absolutely breathtaking – so what is this book doing in the list of most-hated novels? Well, it received most of the backlash because of the historical, religious and scientific inaccuracies, especially his claim of the Holy Grail being Mary Magdalene and her alleged marriage to Jesus. There were protests, lawsuits, plagiarism accusations and book bans. The novel, however, survived through it all.
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Lord of the Flies – William Golding:
William Golding debuted in his literary career with Lord of the Flies, a story about a group of British boys who get stranded on a lonely island and try to control their lives there. All is well… until the boys get affected by the isolation and let their savage side take over. Admittedly, it is an excellent commentary on society and how individuals act in a group – which is probably why the book is one of the first choices by English professors. However, even to date, many readers find the book rather depressing, thanks to its intensely dull prose, seemingly no plot and stereotypical yet unrealistic characters.
It would’ve been better if this novel was promoted as a philosophical text – it does have that interesting theme and complex symbolism. The hate arose partly because it was categorized as fiction.
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After series – Anna Todd:
It’s only rarely that fanfiction gets published in a real paperback; otherwise, you only read those on Wattpad or AO3. Anna Todd rose to fame when her One Direction-inspired book, After, got much more recognition than it should’ve gotten. The story follows the barely-legal-adult Tessa Young, who runs into Hardin, a rude, almost cruel but sexy-as-hell (because the last part justifies every single flaw) boy. What follows later is a turbulent relationship that borders on abuse – something teenage audiences shouldn’t really be subjected to. Even though it became popular enough during its publication, the hate for After has long since surpassed its general fame.
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The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger:
Teenage alienation, angst and the consequent rebellion could be very intense and sometimes deadly. But whatever Holden Caulfield had going on for him, it’s simply an exaggerated version, which is neither believable nor reasonable. In a nutshell, the novel focuses on Holden Caulfield, a depressed teen who gets expelled from schools regularly and tries to get out of his funk – only to get in deeper and deeper.
The reason why readers hate this book is because of the main character himself – Holden might be a unique character with a complex personality, but the flaws seem to make his qualities invisible if there are any. His aggravating behaviour overshadows the plot and by the end, readers are left feeling empty and just done with the novel. Not an encouraging reaction, is it?
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Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert:
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia is a memoir slash self-help book penned by Elizabeth Gilbert. The novel became even popular when it was adapted into a movie that starred – wait for it – Julia Roberts! However, when you put the novel under the microscope, its problems become very apparent. There’s nothing that can pull the readers in – the protagonist just travels solo to different exotic places after her divorce to reform her life. The author just comes across as narcissistic and self-absorbed who writes about her first-world problems in a victimised voice. And despite the way it was promoted, the book sees the protagonist with no streak of feminism in her personality, frequently seeking male attention throughout the narrative.
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One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Márquez:
Reading multi-generational stories is usually very interesting, showcasing how families are interconnected transcendentally. Gabriel García Márquez took that one step ahead, sprinkling in some magic realism to add that ethereal quality to his One Hundred Years of Solitude. It focuses on the story of José Arcadio Buendía, the founding patriarch of Macondo, and the generations following him. Even though it is considered as the author’s magnum opus, readers have always hated it because of many factors, including the confusing and stretched plotline, seemingly no dialogues, repetitive names for different characters and hints of inappropriate sexual relationships. Many readers, however, love the novel – so, honestly, it depends on your reading taste.
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Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher:
When the series 13 Reasons Why came out, it garnered very mixed reviews. In fact, half of my friends loved it while the other half hated Hannah Baker’s thirteen reasons. And since the book contained more about Hannah’s story, one can say that it got these reactions in an even bigger number. The readers didn’t have any problem with the writing part – the hate was more focused on how the protagonist took the little things that happened to her and used them to justify her suicide. And she didn’t stop there – she made tapes of her reasons and sent those to people who were responsible. That just made Hannah, in readers’ eyes, a self-absorbed, melodramatic and revengeful protagonist. If only the message would have been delivered in a slightly different plotline, maybe the criticism would’ve been less.
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Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë:
Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is such a classic novel; in fact, it is a common part of literature courses all around the world. The tale features the turbulent love between Heathcliff and Catherine, which is one of the most revered couples in the history of fiction. Personally, I don’t find them even the least bit romantic – instead, they are toxic, to and with each other, manipulative and controlling.
Many critics raised questions about the selfish actions and the general immaturity and savagery of the characters; they even went on to speculate how Brontë was able to write something as horrifying as this. And yet, some people love it for the exact same reason – the wildness, the destructive love and irredeemable actions. It’s all about subjective thoughts when it comes to this novel.
Hating any novel is a subjective opinion. The texts mentioned here, however, are something hated by a big chunk of the population. All you can do is read these for yourself and decide whether you want to hate these books or find some other novels to hate on!
