I was once trying to read some books on the Civil War and got stuck. 10 hours of Ken Burn’s documentaries later, the books were easy to breeze through (see, looking stuff up can be as easy as watching TV) That being said, don’t get bogged down with the names of the cities or the spelling of names, you’re looking to grasp the meta-lesson: the conclusions.
Read the Reviews
Find out from the people who have already read it, what they felt was important. From Amazon to the New York Times, read the reviews so you can deduce the cultural significance of the work–and from what it meant to others. Also by being warned of the major themes you can anticipate them coming and then actually appreciate them as they unfold.