I read Montaigne way back in my 20s. Whether it was the complete essays or not, I don't know. But it was the Florio translation done not long after Montaigne wrote, so it was like reading Shakespeare.

All that to say that describing Montaigne as a slog is disturbing to me. Reading practically anything of depth and merit is a slog. No pain, no gain. You're in a mind that dwarfs yours. How can it not be a slog?

Steven Gambardella wrote an excellent piece on Medium. I'll post the link here in a few hours.

Another way to approach the Essays is by reading one of them -- "An Apology for Raymond Sebon." It's dazzling.

You're right that the Essays reflect our times. He wrote during the religious wars in Europe. Then, like now, it was a time when everybody hated everybody else. Montaigne found some peace for himself. To discover that peace is well worth a slog. As Steven Gamardella shows, you would be hard pressed to find Montaigne's peace anywhere else.