Am I too young to fully appreciate good literature?

I’m a 26yo guy who dabbles in reading literature. Recently, I’ve read East of Eden, The Count of Monte Cristo, Crime and Punishment and The Picture of Dorian Gray. I enjoyed each book in its own way, but The Count of Monte Cristo is the only one that truly resonated with me. One thing that impressed me about TCOMC is that it delivers its message and philosophy in a non-pretentious way and is genuinely fun to read. Crime and Punishment and East of Eden on the other hand were bleak reads and the messages felt force fed down my throat. Steinbeck was especially heavy-handed to the point where it became distracting.

I understand that the purpose of literature is to uncover aspects of the human nature, and that the plots don’t need to resemble an action movie, but I resent how pretentious some literature can be.

Steinbeck and Dostoyevsky are legends in the literary space, so instinctively I feel like I’m in the wrong when I can’t appreciate the greatness of their works. Maybe I haven’t experienced enough in life to connect with the characters, or maybe it’s just not the style of writing that suits me.

I’m curious to see if anyone else can relate and how they learned to enjoy literature.