Tough-O-Meter

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)

(5) Tree Line

Since you, like us, will probably be reading Béroul's Tristan in translation, you're in for a quick and easy read. That changes if you decide to tackle Tristan in Old French, a language that, like Old or Middle English, looks very different from the modern French people speak today. Possible difficulties to be aware of, even in the English translation, include a lack of explanation for some characters' actions and a plot hole where a character dies only to mysteriously return whole and healthy a few pages later. Tristan doesn't follow the rules of modern-day storytelling. Once you accept that, though, it'll be smooth sailing.