I remember distinctly when I was in freshman year of high school that the very first assigned reading we had for English class was Mark Twain's The Prince and The Pauper. It took me three days to finish reading the 300-page story. At that time, it was the most daunting task to do and a chore to read, especially as I was unacquainted with the older English prose. For the most part, I only understood about 25% of what was written, and I had to look up notes and guides online to help me fill out the rest. However, that began my curiosity about books, and I swore that I will learn to read such complicated books enough to not make me fear them.
Now, I love reading books of all kinds, and the only thing that will deter me from tackling any book is its availability to me, which is no longer a problem with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and e-books. There are a few books that might still be intimidating even for the most seasoned readers, not merely because of their length, but at times due to their narrative style, structure and chronology, word choice, symbolism, and imagery.
One such book which I struggled a bit is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. His style of infusing magical realism in telling the narrative perplexed me at times, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless. Along with that, here are nine other of the most difficult books you'll ever read.
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