Why I Couldn’t Finish Black Leopard, Red Wolf
The disappointment of not finishing a book
Is there anything quite like the disappointment of being let down by a book you expected — you wanted — to love?
I wanted to read Marlon James’ Black Leopard, Red Wolf ever since I stumbled across an interview where he discussed its genesis and influences. A hallucinatory fantasy epic steeped in African mythology? Yes please, count me in. Excitable early reviews and breathless endorsements from the likes of Neil Gaiman piqued my interest even further.
So imagine how deflating it was to crack it open, read a few chapters, and discover that I didn’t like it. That, in fact, I might even hate it — and certainly would not be finishing it.
In my younger days, I was dead set against abandoning a partially-read book. What if it took a while to “click”, the way certain albums take a few listens before embedding themselves in your skull? Of course, that was before I spent a miserable month wading through the mercilessly dull “classic” Walden, at which point I vowed I would never allow myself to get stuck reading a hated book again. After all, reading is a hobby to be enjoyed.
And so Black Leopard, Red Wolf is back on the shelf.
