It Said We Weren't Likable

Writers and literary critics always seem to take issue when someone (specifically, your average reader who reads for pleasure, rather than pretentiousness) says they didn't like a book because the characters weren't likable. As writers and literary critics rightly point out, just because you wouldn't want to take a road trip or go bowling with someone doesn't mean that they aren't interesting, compelling characters or that stories they are in aren't worth reading. Some of the best characters would be horrible human beings. Thus, they argue, finding characters unlikable is not a good reason to not read or enjoy a novel, it's just readers being immature.

I disagree. The real issue here is that readers are not being precise enough when they say that the characters weren't likable. Yes, I do not have to think, "man, I'd love to go to see spectacularly excellent action movies with this person" to find them compelling in a story (actually, there's really only one person with whom I really enjoy seeing spectacularly excellent action movies, but that's not the point here). However, I do have to think that they are not so annoying and/or boring and/or loathsome that I want to spend time with them. Average readers probably do need to be more precise when they say they found the characters unlikable, but I think annoyance with the characters is a perfectly excellent reason to hate the novel.

For example, I found every single character in The Corrections to be mind-numbingly dull and painfully irritating. Not only would I not want to be stuck on a Greyhound bus with them, I did not give a flying fig what happened to them as they bored me to tears. In real life, the heroine of The Ground Beneath Her Feet would be a rather terrifying person to know, the lead of The Joke is rather a bitter person, and the whole ensemble of The Secret History are essentially murderers, but these are all very compelling, rich, fascinating novels.

Ultimately, I do have to find something that I like in a story to enjoy it, and in general I would rather enjoy a story than admire it. This is coming from someone who mostly loves prose and the ways that words are put together, too; I'm not just a character person, but words are their most beautiful in service to an exquisite narrative and a richly created world and characters.