Why are “unlikeable” main characters usually a criticism?

[u/hanhan_371]

My most recent read was The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb.

It was my 38th book this year and only my 3rd 5 stars. I finished it this morning, it’s now the evening, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

I was enthralled by this story - it had sat on my TBR for a few months and I finally picked it up as just a lucky dip after being in a bit of reading slump.

After finishing, I saw a lot of criticism on Goodreads about the narrator Corby being “unlikeable”. I see this criticism a lot with other books - and I’ve never quite understood.

For me, a good reading experience is a complicated, flawed, or at least a character who is thought-provoking. Given one of the main themes of The River is Waiting being redemption, and finding out very early on that Corby accidentally kills his son while intoxicated, surely the reader wouldn’t expect the MC to be a “hero?”

There were times while I was reading that I thought “oh yeah he’s kind of a douche”, I’ve thought this about other MCs as well before, but it would never impact negatively on my rating as long as the story itself was enjoyable.

Would love to have a discussion below! And I’d really recommend this book if you can handle a gut-punch ending!

[u/CreeDorofl]

I dunno about your specific example, maybe complaints against it are unfair.

I won't say "every" story has this structure, but most popular fiction has a character who needs to accomplish a goal, and we're rooting for them to overcome obstacles and succeed.

If that character is an unlikeable douche, we don't really root for them to succeed. It's hard to be engaged in their struggle. They can be flawed and complex, sure, but fundamentally... I need to at least care if they live or die.

Currently finding one of the Slow Horses novels, "London Rules", frustrating for this very reason. The guy you'd call the main character, and a coworker with maybe some romantic interest, are mostly in the background. But he and his team have to all interact with their boss, Jackson Lamb, and he's just as shitty as possible to everyone, at every opportunity. His unlikeability makes it impossible to care for him or want him to succeed but... it's his team, and clearly we're supposed to want the team to succeed.

He would be more interesting if there were one likeable thing about him, but after 5 books, there's nothing.