Ok look I admit I was too ambitious.
Actually, it was less about ambition and more about laziness.
I wrote in June about how I planned to read three big books this summer. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, 2666 by Roberto Bolaño and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
I finished exactly one. Two days ago.
War and Peace is my book club’s book for September so finishing that brick had some external motivation behind it. (My review: some brilliant writing and philosophical insights, a lot of rich society nonsense.)
I did start A Suitable Boy and got about 200 pages in. I’m actually enjoying it but I spent the summer traveling and housesitting and simply did not want to lug this beast around.
I never even started 2666. I had been in discussions to read it together with a friend and they continued to push back the start date. Yes, I am blaming someone else for this.
I did read quite a bit this summer, including Paul Auster’s 866-page 4,3,2,1 which was incredible. But I had it as an e-book, thus it was much easier to take along.
Now that I’m home, I’ve picked A Suitable Boy back up but 2666 remains in purgatory.