The 5 Most Disappointing Books I Read in 2010

It would be impossible and absurd for any reader to list the worst books of 2010 - reading is totally different from movies, TV, music in this way: we often see a horrible movie for a variety of reasons, but we are really unlikely to start reading a horrible book and less likely to finish it. But I think each of us can come up with a list of the most disappointing books of the year: something about them made you want to start, and something about the book caught you early on and made you want to continue reading, maybe even finish the book. Here's my list of:

The 5 Most Disappointing Books I Read in 2010
(listed alphabetically)

The Children's Book, by A.S. Byatt. I was impressed by Possession and by some of her short stories of recent years, and started reading The Children's Book with high hopes, as the first chapter set up a very promising rivalry among three very different boys who meet in a museum. By the end, this book was a total mess, a hodgepodge of hundreds of plot strands left loose, ideas undeveloped, scenes crushed by over-description. Editor, anyone?

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. Everyone recommended it, in part because I've written about Sweden (Exiles). Once you get past the high-mindedness of its stance against corporate greed and violence against women, you have to wonder: doesn't this book wallow a bit too much in the most extreme and ghastly forms of violence against women? Has there ever been a book in which the police were more obtuse and the amateur sleuth/journalist solved the mystery through a more preposterous set of clues? I don't get it.

The Humbling, by Philip Roth. One of his worst books ever - and then Roth redeems himself later in the year with the terrific novel, Nemesis.

The Man Who Loved Children, by Christina Stead. I'd had this classic sitting around for many years, and finally got to it this year - but couldn't finish. The creepiness of the overbearing father and the horrible behavior of all the adults made my flesh crawl, and I couldn't wait to put it down.

Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel. All these awards, and for what? Started off as what looked like it would be a powerful and honest historical novel, but by the end I was just slogging through event after event in Cromwell's (and More's) life/s, all told in the same flat, dry narrative voice. I'd much rather have read a biography.