the book's abstruse subject matter and dense prose make for effortful reading
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The clowning might be a little too effortful.—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026 But this Roundabout production at Studio 54 — the site of glittering debauchery of another era — just isn’t all that much fun, being mostly effortful, maddening and finally exhausting.—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026 Now came the surprise of my effortful steps, the shock of how unyielding the dress’s shell was, as if I were being held in place by a firm hand.—Han Ong, New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2026 What a transformation that would’ve been, of the effortful, unchanging days.—Nell Freudenberger, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for effortful