By this I mean, a book you had to brace yourself to read, and you feel proud for having read. Did you enjoy the process of reading it?
Out of curiosity I tried to read the first few lines of Finnegan’s Wake. Couldn’t progress beyond that. How do people who actually read the book make any sense of it? This is not an example as stated in the post, but “most difficult book” made me think of this book immediately.
Julius Caesar’s Commentarii De Bello Gallico in Latin. And… yes I did enjoy it. There are some points where translation just cannot capture Caesar’s wit. I wish I still knew enough Latin to read it again.
(Why yes I am a huge fucking nerd, how could you tell?)
The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Rewarding slog but a slog for sure.
I am reading it now. Little beyond 80%. Except for the initial ~20% I found it to be a page turner. Loving it!
Seven eves. The author indulges a little too much in technical details. At points, for pages.
I thought it was the easiest Neal Stephenson’s book. (That I’ve read.)