Challenging novels: developing a checklist of stylistic markers of difficulty in prose fiction

The idea that some novels are more ‘difficult’ than others is invoked in many non-academic discussions of literature. However, linking readerly experiences of difficulty to specific textual features of prose fiction has proved challenging. This paper seeks to build a stylistic framework for exploring difficulty in prose fiction, building on Castiglione’s ‘Linguistic Aspects of Difficulty’ checklist developed for use with poetry. It applies this revised framework to excerpts from two texts – Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Toni Morrison’s Beloved – to demonstrate the utility of the revised list. It then draws on reviews from the Goodreads website to explore how the presence of linguistic markers of difficulty may be linked to reader responses.