I always am confused for the first several chapters of books. Is this normal?

I think you need to be okay not knowing things, and try being safe with the assumption it will be explained to you later.

This is hard to answer is this normal, maybe the author is being vague and confusing on purpose. But there is also that friend who asks a hundred questions during the movie that the answer is sit and watch, it will be explained to you. You're not supposed to understand that now.

Maybe you just don't like not knowing? Get more comfortable with that. Especially if you're repeatedly spoiling things for yourself!

It is normal, especially in fiction. More so if you're reading crime, mistery or thriller/horror books. Most fiction books of these genres start in the middle of the narrative and then move forward and give account of what happened earlier later. The ELI5 introductions are less used but you'll see them in fantasy type books mostly, or adventure, some romance and sci-fi novels. Most non-fiction also has linear structures.

I struggle with this with lots of books too.

One of the primary things an author does is get you to keep reading. There are a lot of ways they can make you want to know what's on the next page or the next chapter, but one of the simplest ones is to give you a question without the answer.

That feeling you have is almost always a deliberate goal of the author's. That want that question burning in your head so that you keep reading to find the answer.

Yes I do feel that, you have to remember names and then you have to remember information related to names and then you have to remember the setting. Id suggest reading over the first few chapters a few times

I'm the same way. I need a concrete location before I can ground myself in a story.

To me, the worst thing an author can do is start with dialogue. A disembodied, ageless, genderless voice coming from a void is not a good way to start a story.

Yeah I have this problem. I just read more books and while I'm still lost in the first 30 pages or so, it doesn't bother me as much. The author was probably just as lost as you when they started writing it.

I feel the same way as you do.

The way that I get by this is by assuming every book starts en media res. That is, the story starts in the middle of the plot, and you'll find out more the more you read. When you start a book, you're essentially being introduced to a new world that's established and you just have to go along with it, taking notes and making connections where you can.

One of the worst offenders of this, at least for me, is the first chapter of Carlos Fuentes' "The Good Conscience." Had to reread it 5 times before I eventually just conceded and continued to chapter 2.

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I don’t know about being confused exactly but I do tend to find it very hard to get through the first hundred pages a lot of the time.

Until you gain a full grasp of the world, it is difficult to understand it. Don't worry too much~

imo, either the book is just poorly written or you're reading/skimming too fast (I used to have that problem). I feel like you shouldn't be lost for entire chapters even if the book started in media res.

I get this in a few books. I think it's a combination of voice, setting, and the author introducing a bunch of new words that have no definition. It's frustrating to not know exactly what is meant, but it is the opportunity to use imagination and subtle hints.

At times, I have a similar experience. I view it as a crash course learning a new language. It takes a little bit of time to learn the author's language and style...and depending on the author, it can take more pages to become fluent. And its more jarring depending on the book you were reading before and how long you were immersed in it.

are you confused, or do you simply not know all the answers? there's a difference.

confused would imply you don't understand the basic plot, the character motivations, etc. it might be that you're missing something. or it might be that the book is just poorly written. a lot of books can be just bad -- particularly new authors out of snooty MFA programs that train people to write in weird or obscure ways.

now knowing everything is a different question. if they explained everything up front, there would be no reason for the novel. it'd be a 2 page summary. "Scout Finch is a young girl in the deep south. her dad Atticus is a lawyer who defends a young black man accused of rape. they win in the trial. there is a subplot about a neighborhood boogey man who turns out to be a good guy. the end."

a lot of authors like to do this for some reason....they write from the start in a way where it's impossible to know what is going on...i loathe when authors do this. The worst is when the story is told from multiple view points right...lets say there's 4 viewpoints and the first 8 chapters has 2 chapters each from each view point and I'm just like wtfffffff.

I just realised the same, again, today.
This book is quite hard at first, then it goes okay.
Lots of books are like that for me, very hard at first, then I get into the motion and I can enjoy the ride.

IMO every book should have a Dramatis Personae.

Tell me what I need to know about the main characters at the start in a straightforward manner so that I can contextualize what is happening, especially if the book jumps around a lot between seemingly completely disconnected POVs.

This reminds me of my experience with Shakespeare. I used to read and study a play before going to see one performed. Now I just like going to see one performed, especially one I don't know or remember, and enjoy it.

It takes a few scenes but you'd be surprised-- after 20 or 30 minutes you are flowing along with it because you pretty much know the villains, etc. That's the way they were meant to be enjoyed. It's a fun way to enjoy Shakespeare. He was popular back without anyone having a literary study guide. I'm not saying you should write a critical analysis of them this way, just saying it's surprisingly enjoyable. Just like that.