To ask which book characters irrationally annoy you?

[WaterBird]

I'm currently reading the play "The Rise and Fall of Arturo UI" by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht (though it takes place in Chicago). There is a fairly minor character (at least at the point in the play where I'm at) called Young Dogsborough, whose father is a major character in his 80's. Any time the son says anything, it is to unnecessarily agree with the father. For example if the father says, "They've gone", the son will then say "My father says they've gone."
Which book characters have you felt annoyed by?

Everyone in the two chapters of 50 Shades of Grey that I actually managed to read.

Ooooh everyone saying Cathy and Heathcliffe!!
Yes I hate them too but I loooove the book. I don’t think they or pretty much any character in it is meant to be endearing! Isn’t the whole point that they grew up in a twisted, enclosed environment and they are now are awful and toxic and destroy everything that could be good around them?

Abbey Rosen in Apassionata uuuurgh I hated her

Angel Clare, self-rightous, judgemental and odious.
Tom Buchanan in Gatsby. I know logically I should hate Daisy too but I only hate Tom. I love Nick though. And Gatsby.
And Holden bloody Caulfield.The rest of the world aren't phonies, they may just dare to be preoccupied with stuff you know nothing about. Learn some empathy.

Ooh I'm glad some posters on here have said what I am about to say!

Angel bloody Clare in Tess of the D'Urbevilles - can't stand the weak, hypocritical little toad.

Every single character in The Great Gatsby - come my revolution they would all have been on their hands and knees scrubbing floors the insufferable, shallow arseholes. I hate that book with every fibre of my being.

@Ribbonsonabox GOD I HATE HOLDEN CAUFIELD SO MUCH. There’s a reason it’s a GCSE book (or was 15 years ago...) because he’s a whinge bucket teenager who no one understaaaands. Read it again in my twenties and just realised it’s absolute shite.

@CassandraCross every time anyone has a Great Gatsby themed party all I can think is “you’ve never actually read it, have you?”

I’m halfway through Outlander tv series and I’m obsessed - is it just book Claire that’s annoying or do I just have different taste to PPs?
Won’t buy them if book Claire is unbearable!

Ipswich, the tiger did take his leave after thanking them for his nice tea, so he shouldn't be judged too harshly.

Darrell Rivers gets on my nerves. She's actually a pretty mean bully.

Emma
Kay Scarpetta - the world doesn't revolve around you, you know....
I didn't mind Holden Caulfield.

The main couple in Gone Girl

I came on to say these two as well. Hated them both equally.

@CarolineForbes I only read the book, so I don't know what the tv version was like. I did really like Claire to begin with, but then she devolved into this mess that was whiney and contradictory. I was really hoping the character would remain a strong female character with a focus on her abilities as a WW2 field nurse. I was disappointed. Was the tv version good?

Yes and what kind of name is Darrell? Neither boy nor girl...

@sproutsandparsnips I assume Blyton took the inspiration for the name from her second husband, one Darrell Waters.

I hate Holden so much. I didn’t even like CitR as a teenager. I just want him to shut up.

I also dislike Cat Stark, but I don’t think you’re supposed to like her - so I don’t mind so much.

I tend to really dislike John Green characters, which is a shame since he is so great. It so buys into manic pixie dream girl and fanboys who worship them - why?!

My number one hated book character is Paul from Sons and Lovers. WHAT A TWAT.

Haven't read the thread yet but just saw someone mentioned the lead character in Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Agreed @SquiddyMcSquidford she is fucking insufferable and makes the book hard to read because you don't care about her at all.

Going back to see if any of my other hated characters get a mention

Darrell and Sally were a pair of goody two-shoes. I quite liked Alicia, she took no shit. A MN viper in the making!

But ultimate Blyton goody two-shoes has to be Hilary in the St Clare's books. Did anyone else get a turn at being head girl? The probably breathed a sign of relief when, instead of finishing school, she went to join her parents in Injah.

Diana Bishop in A Discovery of Witches. She's too wet to be a witch and Christ, the amount of baths she has.

Pretty much all the characters in The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

Got to co-sign

Holden Caulfield
Angel Clare

Twats both.

95% of the characters in The Goldfinch - twats

Eleanor's parents in Eleanor & Park

(Leave Anne Shirley the fuck out of it, thank you very much )

They’re all completely obsessed with money and who is and isn’t wealthy.

@CruCru

Similar problem in the Goldfinch apart from the nice man who takes the main character in

Roger from Swallows and Amazon's (and later Bridget) both rather whiny and expecting the others to always do what they want because they're the youngest.

I'd disagree on Anne from Famous Five (not surname Kirren. Aunt Fanny was Kirren, and the two dads were brothers. I think the surname was Barnard, it's in Fix anyway I think)
She isn't as naturally adventurous as the others, but in a lot of ways she is the bravest because she's scared, but goes along with them anyway. The only time she stays behind she says she won't do that again. Read the books with that in mind and you'll see she's actually quite a forceful character.

But they're not supposed to be nice are they? I mean, they murder their pal.

The Nicest Girl In The School by Angela Brazil. Just the tile makes my teeth itch. The nicest girl is in real need of a dry slap.