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I agree that it depends. Sometimes I can still enjoy the book, other times not so much and don't want to keep reading.
For me, I decided to read Twilight a couple years ago because of all the hype. Bella was tolerable in the first book, barely tolerable in the second, unbearable in the third. Now I have the fourth sitting there unread by me, and I just don't know if I can stand to read more about her as it makes me almost physically uncomfortable to think about reading more of her.
This is what ANNOYS me so much about one of my book clubs!! Even if something is beautifully written, several of them will dismiss the entire thing because of a charachter or situation they don't like!!
Ex:
The Poisonwood Bible. Half won't even read it because of the title, and those who did say they don't like that the little girl dies & that they don't ever get to hear the father's side of the story when you hear every other charachter's perspective.
The Good Earth. She kills a baby. Never mind that they are starving. That is ALL they could talk about.
Book clubs.
Some of them are better than others.
I think I would scream if I tried to discuss The Good Earth with people fixated on 'she killed the baby'. I read it in high school many moons ago and understood that this was a story from a different time and culture.
The title wouldn't stop me from reading the book. Sorry I read John Irving's, 'The World According to Garp' and a couple of others but I suppose I live dangerously.
I am not sure I need to like the character but I do need to have some points of reference and relate to him or her to some degree. There has to be an appeal of some kind.
One can feel different emotions towards someone, some of them very negative but I think there has to be a degree of understanding of someone on a human level to make a connection so to speak. You can hate someone and still find a spark of humanity, appreciate their sense of humour or even admire their determination, impressive minds etc....
I find it difficult to enjoy characters I cannot relate to on any level. And I believe in many ways this is the skill of a great writer , to take a thoroughly unlikeable character and draw it in such a way as to draw out something which still allows for a degree of interest. The worst to me is a boring character and evil characters often are more interesting than truly dull people. You can hate them but they make you think often and that's no bad thing.
To me a good writer understands human nature and is able to give life to people regardless of their personality. Drawing people in too wide brushtrokes ( goodie versus baddie ) is to me often the way to a really boring book and cardboard cut-out characters. Life is not black and white. We all have shades of grey in between and the writer's skills is to give those shades a little more colour and tone.
It's not about liking a character as such but how well it is drawn and how the author has brought him/her to life to make him/her flesh and blood.
Sure. Although I'd say if I like none of the characters it's unlikely I'll like the book. I do usually like to have one character I can gravitate to a bit and wonder about. Although with things like satire that's not necessary.
And there's also different kinds of "don't like." A main character who is intended as an unpleasant/unlikeable person can work for me fine. A main character who is just annoying, particularly if not intended to be, is hard to get past. Sometimes if the main character is sufficiently screwed up and hateful, while taking up most of the book, it's hard for me to get into it. Like a couple deals I've read where the main character beat or raped a woman, but the story is about him discussing his dysfunctions to his therapist. (I think one was a story by a feminist woman and the rapist was a normal, even nice, guy who raped a developmentally delayed girl who forgot she ever was raped by the time the baby was born. I wonder if she was doing the "men are naturally rapists, take away the chance of getting caught and even the nice ones would rape" kind of message. If so that's worse to me in many ways as it's rather sexist against men.)
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Recently, I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. There was not one character in that entire book that I liked. In fact, I didnt like the book at all! (Yes, I realize that I am in the minority, most folks love his works!) Not liking a character makes it harder for me to read a story.
In Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff may not be a "warm and fuzzy" character, but as has been said here before, his passion and his love overcame his faults.
I have quit reading books, while saying to myself "You know, I really don't care what happens in the end to these people".
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