Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie and The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen are the worst well regarded books that I've read or attempted to read. They are enjoyed by posters on here whose opinion I respect but I think they are a giant steaming pile of turd.
As for the actual worst books, I have a slight unfair advantage in that I occasionally seek out work of writers who mix in writing circles and come across as a bit odd. I have read some dreadful stuff but it would be unkind to name them as a lot seem to almost be a form of therapy.
There's usually an easy way to spot them. They will have a title that is so obscure it may as well be written in Latin. They will try and write in a style that isn't natural to them but 'breaks all the rules', whether it be no punctuation or paragraphs or giving all the characters the same names etc. There appears to be a desperation to appear more intelligent than they are. (I was once asked in all seriousness how many long words I put in my books to make me sound intelligent
).
They will have sold next to no copies and have two reviews, one written by the author and a one star review from someone who bought it by accident.
These ones are usually self published but of the traditionally published ones, there was on years ago by a former bodyguard for Oasis. It was the dull fair you would expect but he went off piste at one stage and did a druggy chapter with words going in the wrong direction etc. It was painful stuff.
As for the actual worst books, I have a slight unfair advantage in that I occasionally seek out work of writers who mix in writing circles and come across as a bit odd. I have read some dreadful stuff but it would be unkind to name them as a lot seem to almost be a form of therapy.
There's usually an easy way to spot them. They will have a title that is so obscure it may as well be written in Latin. They will try and write in a style that isn't natural to them but 'breaks all the rules', whether it be no punctuation or paragraphs or giving all the characters the same names etc. There appears to be a desperation to appear more intelligent than they are. (I was once asked in all seriousness how many long words I put in my books to make me sound intelligent
).They will have sold next to no copies and have two reviews, one written by the author and a one star review from someone who bought it by accident.
These ones are usually self published but of the traditionally published ones, there was on years ago by a former bodyguard for Oasis. It was the dull fair you would expect but he went off piste at one stage and did a druggy chapter with words going in the wrong direction etc. It was painful stuff.
