I felt similar to you. The story certainly isn’t based on any form of realism and is meant to be representative of certain themes in humanity. That being said the amount of simple communication issues was off putting to me, and there was a severe lack of empathy throughout the story which is deeply human. It did hone in on the dangers of ego and power, but to me fell flat in its attempt to make that point. Overall I think the book is quite overrated. I don’t hold it to be a classic or even much more than a story for kids, and I am hesitant to find much utility in it even for children.