I didn't like the book much as a kid, but didn't realize why. When I reread it as an adult, it looked like it was a weird exception to science fiction because getting out into space was no fun whatsoever.

Offhand, I can't think of any other stories which made space so unappetizing except for Malzberg's astronaut stories. "Scanners Live in Vain" doesn't count because space is incidentally painful-- it's going to be good once the pain problem is solved.