How on earth is this book considered a classic of the Western cannon? Even allowing for the satirical elements and for the fact that many of the historical allusions go over a modern reader's head, the plot is dreadful, the characters are dreadful, it has no emotional weight, no humour, no real meaning even.

We read this in 10th grade for AP European History and it was such a struggle. Read it again for a Humanities course in college - in this edition, a better translation - and howled over it. Requires context for both the historical period and the literary style and a willingness to laugh at absurdities.

It's a satire. It makes fun of the age of philosophical thought. It occasionally has words of wisdom. That's all you really need to know about it because otherwise it is not a very interesting read. Sure the plot is ridiculous for a reason and the characters aren't supposed to make you feel attached to them in any way, but there's not much else that would have kept me invested were it not for the fact that I was forced to read this for school. Thank goodness it's a quick read.