I read a review of a mainstream title in the January ’08 Romantic Times. The reviewer’s comment made me chuckle. I doubt the author being reviewed felt the same way, but the comment did bring up a good point. Here it is:
Is it possible to dislike every character in a book? Yes, it is. There’s not one likable or redeemable character in this story. They’re all despicable people with no morals or values. Is it possible to dislike a book based on hateful characters? Yes, it is.
This happens to me in movies all the time. For example, my husband (who loves artsy films) loved The Hours. I hated the movie. Part of my problem is what the book reviewer said – I hated every single character. Not that everyone needs to be cheery and happy. That’s not it. In fact, I saw the movie No Country For Old Men last weekend and loved it (except for the last 15 minutes). There aren’t a lot of likable characters in No Country For Old Men. Lots of death and shooting and more death. Still, the movie worked for me. Maybe the difference is that the characters in The Hours weren’t supposed to be bad and unlikable as the characters in No Country For Old Men were. In other words, there wasn’t an expectation that I would like the No Country For Old Men characters but there was one for the characters in The Hours. On that point, The Hours didn’t work for me at all.
When I pick up a novel I expect to like someone in it. In a romance novel, I anticipate having a reader bond with the hero and heroine. Clearly the mainstream book I referenced did not forge that reader bond for the RT reviewer. I can’t think of a time when I hated a romance hero and heroine. I’m sure there have been a few, but I’m blocking them. Have you found a hero and heroine unlikable lately? Have you had this sort of “yuck” reaction to characters in a book, and by that I mean a “yuck” reaction to someone other than the villian or nasty old girlfriend or someone you were supposed to have a “yuck” reaction to?
I have a pretty little book and matching pen I’ll give away to someone commenting here. I’ll pick the person at random over the weekend.
I recently read an book that I thought I was going to enjoy but it actually was a big disappointment. I was disappointed in the hero and heroine and just could not get into the story – it was a struggle to finish the book.
I like to get into the stories and when I finish the book have one of those sigh moments or have the feeling at the end that “this was a great read”. It is unfortunate when it just doesn’t do it for you.
I guess I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’ve hated the characters or even a yuk factor, but I have had “I don’t give a darn about these characters” which still makes the book pretty unreadable.
There was one book where the hero was daydreaming about his neighbor. In his fantasy, she was the evil spy girl, and he was a James Bond type. That was fine. It was when he got in his car and followed her around town that I started screaming, “STALKER!” The heroine (who was NOT the woman being stalked, by the way) actually was a James Bond type and thought the stalker-hero was actually a rival James Bond type and set out to seduce him in order to get information, which I found extremely sleazy. Hated both of them and refused to live with them beyond page 30.
I think if you read enough books chances are you will run into this problem to some degree. There have been times when a hero or heroine have annoyed me to the point where I just didn’t care what happened to them and usually that’s when I put the book down.
It is absolutely possible to hate a book based on its characters even if the story is good. If the hero is an arrogant jerk and/or the heroine is a b*tch or a shrew, it affects your opinion of the book overall. I’m always looking to see if unsympathetic characters redeem themselves over the course of the book.
I have been unable to finish books before in the past because I have disliked the heroine or the hero. Usually, it has been one character. I can’t think of any book where I disliked both characters.
I cannot think of a book where I disliked all of the characters.
This isn’t a romance, but I didn’t like any of the main characters in House of Sand and Fog. I was ready to burn the house down myself just so that none of the characters would get it. (Maybe that was the author’s goal? Sometimes I just can’t tell.)
I read a book recently that while the writing itself was good, I really couldn’t like the heroine at all! She was so self absorbed I wanted to smack her. The hero wasn’t much better, but I think I could have liked him more if there was more to him (most of the book focused on her). The secondary characters from the other books made very rare appearances.
This was the third book in a 4 book series and I had a hard time finishing because of that one character.
I’m thinking of a very memorable book, The Way of the Heart by Cheryl Holt. I absolutely hated the hero. He contemplated marrying off his 12-year-old daughter to a grown man (this is a historical novel, but still!) and he cheated on the heroine the night of their wedding, immediately after taking her virginity. He was really despicable. And yet, the story was so well written I couldn’t put it down. The heroine took out a pistol and shot the hero when she caught him with his mistress. Ha!
In the end, however, I didn’t think he suffered enough to earn her love. I think he was beyond redemption. The story left me feeling wistful and unsatisfied. I still recommend it. Go figure.
Great post, HelenKay! I do agree–if I dislike one of the characters (and it isn’t one of the main ones), I can generally get through the rest of the book. If I take a dislike to one of the main characters, I usually end up skimming and then reading the end just to see how it all turns out. Conversely, if I enjoy the characters, I don’t want the book to end, and do enjoy rereading it.
This happened to me with This Heart of Mine, by SEP. For some reason, the heroine’s thinking seemed completely off to me, and I wasn’t able to get past feeling like she was annoyingly insane. I still haven’t finished the book. On the other hand, several of her other books are on my keeper shelf, and I reread them because I like the characters–Heaven, Texas and It Had to Be You are two favorites with spunky, likeable heroines.
Jill – was the Way of the Heart supposed to be a romance? I can’t imagine a romance featuring such an awful hero. Thank God she shot him!
Oh yes, The Way of the Heart is a romance. And the hero is not all bad. (spoiler alert) He actually ends up killing the man who wanted to marry (and later attacked) his 12-year-old daughter.
Again, I enjoyed it, but I admit I have questionable taste.
Hi, HelenKay,
IMO, a “yucky” heroine is one who is too easily swayed by a secondary character to believe a certain thing or a certain way about the hero. Rather than walking away from him without a word, I would prefer she have the gumption to approach him with the negative information and give him an opportunity to prove it false.
Great post, HelenKay. I can think of one book, an historical romance that I won’t name, that I so didn’t want to finish, I hated the characters so much. Except that I HAD to finish because I was reading this for a contest. It was torture and by the end, I wished every character in the book who hadn’t already died would be mercifully put out of their misery. Even the DOG in this one was annoying!
What sends me off the rails are too sweet, saintly, long-suffering heroines. You know the kind I mean – they walk through life and everything bad happens to them, for no apparent reason other than to point out how saintly they are for taking it gracefully and sweetly. Blech! Others are mean and horrible to them, just because they’re mean and horrible, they are fabulously slim and beautiful but have no clue, they’ve never had sex, never been kissed…in short, they’re freakin’ boring, and tiresome and after a while, I wonder if this woman will ever express the slightest amount of anger at fate, the world, God, somebody, anybody for dumping on her. But no – she never does. She suffers with a smile, with a helping heart as she goes about trying to relieve other’s suffering, or saving her friend, brother, father, fill-in-the-blank, who deserves saving like Hugo Chavez deserves to be Leader of The World. Sweet Mary and God save me from Polly Pureheart.
Okay, Jill, you are just plain funny! And I think I’m going to have to read this book now!
I guess I’m easy to please, but I’ve never read a book where I disliked the hero or heroine ~ at least not enough to quit reading the book.
I have never read a book where I disliked all of the characters.
I read one of Lass Small’s last books(quite possibly the last) and I felt cheated by it! It was awful…hated the story line, the characters, the lenght (extremely short), boring. Afterwards I said I couldn’t believe how bad it was! To this day, I wish I would have written both her and SilDesire and said how truly disappointing the book was and that it should never had been published. Unfortunately, I didn’t write the name down or I’d warn you not to waste your time or money. After reading it, I was relieved to hear that she had stopped writing. I felt that the book was written to cash in…take the money and run(QUIT/RETIRE).
If I don’t like one of the characters(main) I usually keep reading because hopefully he/she has redeemed themselves somewhere along the line. I also check ahead in different chapters for just a wee hint that this might be happening so I know that I will possibly come to like them.
Nothing really comes to mind. That is some talent to be able to write a book with all despicable characters. NOT.
Sometimes a book just wont grab me and sometimes that is because I cant devote the time or full attention to it and it isnt the book’s fault. Sorry cant be more help.
any winner?
Hi everyone. Recover from the holidays yet? Me either…
The winner is Cherie J!!!! Congrats!!! Email me so I can get the priz out to you.
Thank you HelenKay. I just sent you an email.
wtg cheri j