I've harboured a deep resentment for Margaret Atwood for quite some time, having being subjected to the harrowing drudgery of Alias Grace when I started my A Levels, not far off a decade ago. But on the combined advice of several friends, my English Literature graduate girlfriend and some of the more sane posters on this here website, I've given her another go. I'm now very close to the end of The Handmaid's Tale and, yeah, it's probably already one of my favourite books. I'll be testing the waters further before finally committing to an apology, but looks like I may well have been wrong about you after all, Maggie.

Usually though, I wouldn't bother going to such lengths- there are so many authors and novels out there that there isn't a real need to persevere with an author after one rubbish reading experience, even if one book obviously isn't *really* enough to judge someone on. So, in the interests of making this a thread than my own ramble, what authors have people told you to give a second chance? Did you? What was the result?