how to read awful difficult stuff
Take things reading by the smooth handle. Break linearity if you have to. I like reading backwards. If you get bored or frustrated, skip ahead. Look at pictures. Remind yourself of the outline. The more difficult bits fall into place after you've understood the easy bits. Some things you won't understand are errors. Nothing is perfectly written, and there is little reason to suppose that the ordering given is the one that will allow you to understand best. "Pillage," as an advice page at Duke University gives it.