The Autobiography of Malcolm X

I may just be about to offend quite a few people by posting a negative report of this iconic book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. I say 'report' as opposed to 'review' because I don't feel you can really review someone's life story - that isn't my job (or anyone's job!) and I'm not about to critique a real person's life. However, I can say that I DNFd (did not finish) this book as I just wasn't enjoying it anymore. It started well, I was interested and gripped by the moving story of a young man born into a world of prejudice and hatred, and forging a path based on the wrong decisions. The writing was fast paced and I found the narrative voice very readable. A good start!

As the book went on, and Malcolm X went to prison, the pace slowed and I began to feel less enticed to pick the book up. It was quite repetitive in parts and the slowness was putting me off, compared with how quick the start of the book was. I got to page 300 (of 500 - I gave it over half okay!) and just thought, what am I doing? Life's too short to read books you aren't enjoying, am I right?

When I looked at some reviews of the book, in an attempt to reassure myself I was not alone, it made me feel even worse. Glowing, raving reviews flood Goodreads and I couldn't find a single one where the person hadn't loved the book! Perhaps the problem is me, but nevertheless I had already made my mind up that I was done with this. I tried!

Does anyone else share that feeling of guilt when you don't love a hugely popular book? Particularly one written by such a respected (albeit controversial) figure. To reiterate, I'm not critiquing this man's life or his personal story. Just this book which clearly was not for me!