Every reader has experienced an occasion in which they are reading a book, loving it, but can’t stand the character(s). If you don’t like a character, does it change the way you feel about the book? Cause you to close the book and walk away? Or can you get past this and appreciate the book despite the character flaw?
Recently, I’ve noticed quite a few books I’ve been reading have characters toward whom I have very strong feelings. Here are just a few of them:
- Snape (Harry Potter)-is he good or is he bad? I admit (close your eyes if you haven’t read the entire Harry Potter series) that I was pretty livid when it was Snape who killed Dumbledore. I mean…Snape was/is the quintessential good bad guy, right? We ALL hated him, yet without him the novels would lack so much.
- “R” (Warm Bodies)-ok, not quite as much hate for “R” but you WANT to hate him. He’s a freakin’ zombie after all? Yet, he’s sweet, caring, has a conscious. Squint your eyes really tight and you won’t notice he’s decomposing.
- Rochester (Jane Eyre)-Ok, I can’t find any redeeming qualities in this character. He locks his wife up in the attic and tries to have an affair with the governess. Yes, we must look at the time period and the state of affairs, but darn it, I hated Rochester.
- Bett (The Bird Sisters) I just wanted to wring this girl’s neck! Yes, she’s got some drama going on at home but really? How dare she ruin the lives, the very futures, of Millie & Twiss? Grr!
So, tell me. Who are the book characters you love to hate? What makes you hate them? Do your strong feelings about a character sway your opinion of a book or are you able to look past these feelings?
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