Have you ever read a book without any context, and found that your takeaway from it was drastically different than other people? What book was it?

I read the bell jar, and didn’t really register the fig tree analogy that seems to have captivated so many people. It just didn’t stand out to me.

I also didn’t have context surrounding Sylvia Plath (and her suicide right after finishing the book) and so I felt like it ended on a positive/hopeful note with “I am, I am, I am.” I did feel like the book was depressing, but also thought it had a lot of satire and humour. The protagonist seemed very self aware in her melodrama, very aware of the irony in her depression, and frequently took the mick about it. I didn’t see it as such genuine tragedy.

Then went online and found that people had completely different takeaways from the book than I did, and all thought the message was entirely different. I was shocked by how wrong I appeared to be (to the extent that there is a wrong way to take it).

Anyone else have this experience? What book was it, and would you recommend?