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Original poster

Books with unlikeable characters

139 replies

Booklover23 · 18/12/2024 16:24

Ok so not very Christmassy but I am a fan of an unlikeable protagonist.

Any recommendations for my last book of the year?

OP posts:
MrsSethGecko · 18/12/2024 17:15

I've just finished Life In The Palace by Carol Birch- full of unlikeable characters but very good. (Also full of misery though.)

QuickDenimDeer · 18/12/2024 17:13

Normal People - two utterly unlikeable characters.

Strange and Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, I am sure it’s told by Aunt Lydia.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh.

Lolita, obviously.

narniabusiness · 18/12/2024 17:11

Any of John Updike’s Rabbit books. He’s a self centred awful man who messes up other people’s lives and is unaware that he is the author of his own destiny.

thisoldcity · 18/12/2024 17:10

I think a lot of Elena Ferrante books have fairly unlikeable women at their heart. My Brilliant Friend has Lenu who just follows a useless man at the expense of her children and you want to give her head a wobble a few times.

StiffyByngsDogBartholomew · 18/12/2024 17:07

Vanity Fair ? You can't help but admire Becky's determination and grit but, my word, she certainly schemes her way through the world

BlueChampagne · 18/12/2024 17:02

Emma has always annoyed me. And Cathy and Heathcliffe aren't very lovable.

ohyesido · 18/12/2024 17:02

The Last Cuckoo by Maria Frankland has an extremely unlikeable narrator

LonginesPrime · 18/12/2024 16:58

Bunkbedbunk · 18/12/2024 16:37

Also if you haven't read it
We Need to Talk About Kevin

I was going to suggest Mania, also by Lionel Shriver - I actually stopped reading it for a bit as the narrator was so mean about her own child that it became a bit of an unpleasant experience, but I picked it back up and am glad I did.

Catandsquirrel · 18/12/2024 16:42

Not sure if the Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks would come under this category. Not the best-written book I've ever read, more of a rapid sketch of ideas than finely crafted, but very thought provoking. Characters not particularly created to be liked or sympathised with, certainly not consistently. Main protagonist maybe a bit more so, 'the seventh son' himself, but not the others.

I am Charlotte Simmonds by Tom Wolfe (lot of bad sex, mind you!). I read this when it came out in 2004 and dipped back in recently after seeing an article that mentioned it, and it was quite strange to see the 2000s and their attitudes as a different time. The protagonist isn't a baddie and is quite vulnerable but isn't easy to warm to. None of the characters are, mostly down to immaturity and environment.

We need to talk about Kevin probably wins the prize for this!

EwwSprouts · 18/12/2024 16:38

The Wasp Factory

Bunkbedbunk · 18/12/2024 16:37

Also if you haven't read it
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Original poster
Booklover23 · 18/12/2024 16:31

Bunkbedbunk · 18/12/2024 16:29

Yellow face
Atonement
A ladder to the sky* very unlikeable protagonist!

ooh I’ve not read Atonement but really like the other two - so that’s a great shout.

OP posts:
TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 18/12/2024 16:30

American Psycho.
Lolita.

Bunkbedbunk · 18/12/2024 16:29

Yellow face
Atonement
A ladder to the sky* very unlikeable protagonist!