Are Likeable Characters Important in a Good Novel?

[Chris Tusa]

I'm wondering . . . when you read a book, are you looking for characters you can relate to, characters you like, etc.? Or, are you simply looking for a good story and good writing? Have you read and loved a book containing characters you didn't admire (relate to) or even like?

[Jon Spoelstra]

When I write a review on Amazon, the central point is pretty simple: Did I enjoy it or not? There have been times when I didn't really like the character(s), but the plot and the writing propelled me to finish the book. In that case, I would give it four or five stars.

In one of my books, there were 29 reviewers on Amazon. 21 rated it with five stars, six rated it with four stars. There was one two star, and that reviewer seemed angry.

I've seen other angry reviews and I've wondered where did that anger come from? If I dislike a book, I just stop reading it. I'll comment on Amazon if I feel the book is bloated or just bad writing, but it never brings on anger. Maybe it's because I tossed it early on or had already gone on to the next book.

[John C. Stipa]

I don't know where the anger comes from, but I've experienced it a few times and it's pretty demoralizing. I wish they would just take a deep breath, count to ten and then at a minimum try to be balanced instead of focusing on all negative aspects.

[Helena James]

I love a book that can take me away. I like characters that I can sympahize with and understand. Strength without cruelty and closed hearts that are finally opened are the stories that keep me going until the last page.

[Michele Cozzens]

I get more from the reading experience when I relate to at least one of the characters. I prefer to spend time with characters I like rather than dislike. But if you're going to make me dislike a character, please make me hate him/her. When they're well drawn, the like-ability factor is less important. Meanwhile, the last book I read where I detested most of the characters, certainly all of the main characters, was Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. And yet, I read every word of this ~1200-page tome.

[Ashley Barnett Smith]

The character is the flavor in the story, how she/he is protrayed in the story makes the story alive and interesting. Kinda like in the movie.

[Mirek Sopek]

What matters most is the good story. Period. However, the ability to identify with a protagonist of a story is our fundamental expectation when we read novels.

The most powerfull example of great book and characters that I not only desliked but just hated was:
"http://sopekmir.blogspot.com/2008/05/more-questions-no-answers.html " where the main character is ... Hitler. Despite that, it is just a great book.

So I think, what makes a good book is not the likeness of characters to what we expect, but the good story telling ...

[CJ]

I generally like books with flawed but likable characters, but I can think of one exception, A Confederacy of Dunces. Library Journal describes the main character Ignatius Reilly as "a fat, flatulent, gluttonous, loud, lying, hypocritical, self-deceiving, self-centered blowhard who masturbates to memories of a dog and pretends to profundity when he is only full of beans." But despite the obnoxious protagonist, somehow, the book is funny, tragic, and wildly original. The author, John Kennedy Toole, was unable to get the book published. After he committed suicide, his mother took the manuscript to publisher after publisher over a period of seven years and when it was finally published, it won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1981. I would guess that this is one of those books that about 50% of readers will absolutely love and the rest will hate. Here is one example of the author's writing style: "Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs." Isn't that a great description?

[Betty Gelean]

To me, I don't have to like the characters, obviously we are not meant to find them all likeable, but I do like to know the characters. They should be true to themselves, consistent (in series particularly), and build through the book. But they should also be consistent with the time, with the story, and well-written.

[Natalie Shinn]

When I read a book I don't necessarily look at the individual characters, but the work as a whole; It's just an added bonus if you can relate. For example though, in Paradise Lost, you don't really like the devil or relate to him, but you kinda like his deliciously evil personality, and how flambouyant he is.

[Betty Gelean]

Good point!

[Alina Escalante Romero]

What a like from a book is that I can relate to the story, not exactly the characters. But the characters are really important too, and I think that believable characters make a good story, wether I like them or not. When you read a book where the main character is "perfect" it can be frustrating and dull.

Take comic book heroes for example, what's interesting about being strong and having the ability to fly, and having lots of superpowers and no one can defeat you? What's the challenge about that? So then, even superman isn't perfect... and there comes the kryptonite!

It sometimes happens to me that the bad guy or any disagreable character can be likeable precisely because he's the bad one, or even that I can't stand the good guys.

I've fallen in love with books where the characters are realistic, but what I like the most is relating to the story.

[Peter Kelly]

I look for both when I read a good book. In the books I read I always try and put myself into the characters mind set which makes getting the world the author creates much easier. If the story is good then at the end I am both satisfied and fullfilled. The first time I read Lord of the rings I put myself into Aragorns mindset which was amazing and left me blown away at the end.