Somewhat random question: How important is it to you to like the characters in a book in order to like the book? I've had a few conversations lately where I've said I liked a book and someone else replied, "Oh, I hated it -- the main character was such a bitch" or "Ugh -- that main character was a horrible person." And I was kind of stuck in, "Well, yes, but they're entertaining horrible people." I can think of lots of books that I love where I'd probably strangle any of the characters if I had to actually interact with them for more than five minutes, but I still say I love the book because I love watching what happens to these horrible people or how they do their horrible stuff. In several of these cases, the person said, "I hated that character," and my response was a confused, "Were we supposed to like her?"
'Bring On The Night'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
I dislike books where the unlikeable person is the focus of the book, because I've get better things to do than spend that much time with someone I don't like.
If they are unlikable but entertaining I will enjoy reading about them. The guy in High Fidelity is a jerk for a good part of the book, but he is fun to read about, for example. Sherlock Holmes would be another example.
And I was kind of stuck in, "Well, yes, but they're entertaining horrible people."
That I can live with. I've started and not finished too many books recently where I was more like "I wouldn't want to spend two minutes around these people in real life, I'm not doing that on the page either."
I'm looking forward to partaking of American Psycho in one form or another, and I understand there's no liking to be had there. I also liked A Clockwork Orange and there's no feeling for Alex until possibly the end.
I could never watch Seinfeld because everyone annoyed me so much. Not that that was a book.
I don't know...in some cases, but not always. Sometimes it's how they tell it.
I could never watch Seinfeld because everyone annoyed me so much. Not that that was a book.
That's why I couldn't watch The Inside. As much as I wanted to get behind a Minear project, I found everyone on that show impossible to like.
I'm trying to think if there are any books that I read willingly in which I disliked the main character, or more than 1 character. I find almost all the characters in Wuthering Heights very unlikeable, but I had to read that for a class.
Most of the characters in Vanity Fair are either loathsome or contemptible (some, of course, are both), but Lordy it's a fun read.
Wuthering Heights was actually the book that got me started thinking about this. I don't like any of the characters, I think several of them are really horrible people, and most of the rest make ridiculously bad decisions for incredibly stupid reasons. But I still like reading it, because they do interesting things.