We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(9) Mount Everest
The Confidence-Man is the master of the hard sell. This book doesn't pull any punches when it comes to literary, historical, social, political, and biblical allusions. Melville also pulls out the SAT vocabulary prep book and throws in words that were already obscure during the time he was writing, in the 1850s.
If that doesn't trip you up, the multi-layered storytelling, complex framing, and meandering plot might give you a run for your money.
So why bother? Well, for one thing, we're pretty sure the double-dog-dare-you spirit in which this text is offered goes a long way toward egging us on and making it kind of fun. Each chapter builds on the previous one, making the curiousness of the characters on the ship fold back on each other in funky—and often funny—ways.
Plus: short chapters; like, super short.