- Alice from Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
Funnily enough, I actually ended up loving Side Effects May Vary, despite Alice's bad attitude throughout some of the novel. I found that even though yes - she said some things that perhaps she shouldn't have and made mistakes, she did acknowledge them. Alice was a very real character and took all that life threw at her with her witty and snarky outer shell. Judging by what she went through, it's no wonder why. At times, she was difficult to empathise with because of how she treated Harvey, but amidst it all she still managed to keep his unwavering support. I think Alice was a complex character overall who was never a bad person at heart. - Luce from the Fallen Series by Lauren Kate
This is one of the first angel-themed paranormal series I read, quite a while ago and in hindsight Luce really wasn't the best female protagonist in my opinion. She seemed to be the walking embodiment of the 'damsel in distress', boy-crazed, in the midst of a pending love triangle and hanging off Daniel's every word. Although she had her small acts of bravery (and they were few and far between), I just got annoyed at her most of the time and wanted her to have more of a backbone. I know that not all female protagonists are written so that they can kick ass, but in this instance if it was the case I would have liked Luce a lot more.- Piper from Showdown by Remi Lacroix
Basically, Piper is your stereotypical mean girl. She's a spoilt brat who knows she's popular and wants everybody else to bow down to her as well. Honestly, instead of redeeming herself in the latter parts of the book she just got even more manipulative and nasty. Let's just say I'd hate to go to school with someone like her, because Piper Houston isn't afraid to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. These kinds of people I think would annoy anybody in real life (unless you were in their clique of course), and in a bookish situation it really isn't any different.- Well, This is Awkward by Kate Forster
I just couldn't connect with Lily or find any justification for her actions (well, she was drunk pretty fast after she got there but still). Lily was a makeup artist invited to her best friend's party, where she came across Henri - Emilie's cute French cousin who comes to take care of her after she's vomiting in the bathroom - really romantic right? Moving on, they soon started talking when she's sobered up a little, then she seems to fall for him instantly. She seemed to portray all the 'what not to do's' when at a party. At night. With alcohol. And guys you hardly know. On top of all that, I don't even see how there was even a point or a message to Lily's story, because it was wrapped up in all the melodrama and stupidity. Ugh.
Does an unlikable main character automatically make you hate a book? What are some of these characters you've come across?
I just finished reading a book, Dirty Red by Tarryn Fisher, where the main character was manipulative, spoiled, and just a generally bad person. She was also the narrator! While I agreed with nothing she did, I still enjoyed reading her POV. It was different and it was fun and it added another level of emotion to the reading.
ReplyDeleteSometimes yes, that can be quite an interesting perspective to read from I suppose, especially if it adds to the holistic reading experience.
DeleteWhile she didn't make me hate the book, the main character (I think her name was Kate) from The Goddess Test was So. Very. Annoying.
ReplyDeleteShe just whined about everything. It was worse in book 2, but by book 3 she had mostly stopped complaining.
But regardless of her annoying-ness, I actually really liked that series.
And the same thing happened with The Selection. In fact, it was pretty much exactly the same, except instead of complaining, she just overreacted to everything. But, again, it was worse in book 2, and she was mostly over it by book 3.
And again, I actually loved the series.
Oh, and Born at Midnight was another annoying character...but more because she was a bit of an idiot. Like, seriously, it was annoying how dim she was.
As a result, I didn't really like the series until book 3. Once I got to book 3, the rest of the series was much more enjoyable (it was a 5 book series). The main character was still annoying, though she did improve slightly.
(Also, sorry if it seems like I'm just listing books...I'm literally just going through my goodreads 'read' shelf, because I know I've read annoying-character books, I just can't think of them off the top of my head).
Ok, last one:
Uglies. I really didn't like this series (but for some reason I read the whole thing), and I think that was mostly due to the fact that Tally was very annoying. I didn't like her. And it didn't help that she kept on getting her brain messed with at the end of each book, so at the start of each book she was a new level of annoying.
Wow, that was long. In summary: annoying characters don't make me hate books. Especially if they improve towards the end of a series.
Don't worry - I had to go through my goodreads list as well to find a few!
DeleteI think in a series situation it can be easier to understand the character a bit better, and their flaws become more forgivable if they improve. Nobody's perfect, and I suppose that works for book characters as well!
I don't mind unlikable characters at all. I'm probably more forgiving of book characters than I am of real people.
ReplyDeleteThey can be alright if they don't detract from the total reading experience, which seems to be the general consensus here!
DeleteSometimes I don't mind unlikable protagonists if they are crucial to the story, like you I actually enjoyed Side Effects May Vary because she was dealing with cancer and that was her way of coping. Falling into Place has unlikable characters as well and I think I enjoy the flawed ones a lot more than those perfect ones.
ReplyDeleteMean girls are rarely written convincingly I think, they are often one-dimensional characters. Lovely review hun!
Exactly! In both Side Effects May Vary and Falling Into Place those characters that were flawed actually added depth to the story and you were able to understand them. I definitely agree that the typical 'mean girl' without any other redeeming character traits can be difficult to like or relate to in any case. Thanks for stopping by Jeann :)
DeleteWonderful topic of discussion, Eugenia! I haven't read any of these protag.'s, except for Luce, and she definitely made me dislike the books more as they went on. Usually, an unlikeable protag. makes it hard for me to fully enjoy the story, and hence the book gets rated lower, however, there are cased where an unlikeable protag. actually makes the story what it is, such as Liz in Falling Into Place.
ReplyDeleteYep, Luce just got irritating after a while *sigh*. I suppose the 'unlikable characters' topic itself has two sides: there are those that you just can't empathise with at all, and cause you to dislike the book, and there are others that can actually enrich the story because they are in some ways relatable.
DeleteThis is a really interesting topic, and I think it's something that's going to vary for everyone. For me... If I don't like the character, I probably won't like the book. Especially if it's written in first person, where I'm constantly in the character's head. Third person, I might be able to enjoy the book some more, because I'm a step away from the character, though unlikeable characters ARE going to hinder my enjoyment of the book.
ReplyDeleteExactly - reading comes down to personal opinion at the end of the day so I suppose that an unlikable main character will affect people's overall experience differently. It's an interesting point that I hadn't thought of which you made about it being different whether the book is written in 1st/3rd person when it comes to the characters in this case. Thanks for sharing Kara :)
DeleteI love this topic that you've brought up! The perfect discussion, imo.
ReplyDeleteIf the unlikable protagonist affected how I felt about a certain book...then I'd dislike a lot of things. Luckily, I like to give things a chance. Sometimes I feel as though an unlikeable protagonist is crucial to the story, so long as they have character growth and depth. I think those are the two most important factors. But every now and again, I just come across a protagonist that bugs me, shares no common values, and overall is just unpleasing to read and in those situations, I find it hard to dig for pros in the story because I'm just so distracted, you know?
Jess @ MyReadingDress
Thanks Jess :) It's definitely a good thing to give things a chance and go into a book with an open mind. Great point about the unlikable protagonist having some actual depth to them and growth which definitely make them more interesting to read about.
DeleteI can totally relate when sometimes the main character just plain annoys you and you can't connect to the story because that one factor keeps popping up!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and stopping by :)
I think it just depends on the book. I kind of hated Side Effects May Vary because of all the characters, yet I acknowledged that they knew what they were doing wrong etc etc. I think if you're meant to hate the main character, then the book has to make you want to continue reading. Hmmm, haven't read any of the others you've listed, I shall be wary. Great post! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree - I think that authors in some cases create main characters that are unlikable yet leave room for them to develop and reveal how complex they are to make us keep reading. Thanks for stopping by Gina :)
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