"Ethan Frome." I read it in high school and hated it. There was no high moral content, no real hero to emulate or cheer on, no true villain to root against, and the major conflict was whether or not the central male character (a total and complete wuss) would leave his rich but loveless wife for a sexy young girl with no money. Instead, he opts to commit double suicide on a toboggan run, but screws up and ends up permanently damaged and his girlfriend ends up a paraplegic who is taken in by his wife in an apparent lifelong punishment for the guy cheating with her.
Hated the book. Didn't like the teacher (and she didn't like us sophomores, either; thought she was too good to be enslaved to our class). Bombed the test and yelled at the teacher for accusing me - in writing! - of not reading the stupid book.
And it's a classic?
