Discussion (not) Friday!

[geraineon]

Time for another discussion post, after having skipped it last time!

I just finished reading a few novels where I disliked/did not like the main character, the main love interest, and yet I was invested in the story from the start to the end.

Have you read stories where you disliked everyone and yet still finished the story? What made you continue (and drop some recs if you want to)? Is "liking the main character" a prerequisite for you to finish a story?

Comments

[geraineon]

The novels I recently finished are not cnovels but jnovels and it's not the first time I am exposed to this author's stories so maybe the bias helped but I remember the first time I experienced her stories in audio format. I was angry a lot of the time, and yet I finished it, and the story stuck with me for years after...

In terms of cnovels, quite a long time ago, I finished 偏执受想开了[重生] (The Obsessive Shou Moves On), and yep, I disliked the MC, disliked the ML, and yet I finished it.

I think there are slightly different reasons... for the former, I wanted to see how these characters that I did not like with their personalities and circumstances could possibly find some sort of peaceful co-existence with each other (co-existence, because that author does sometimes write BL where you will be left wondering, where's the L in "BL") and because the characters are so humanly flawed in such destructive ways to each other that it was fascinating watching everything unfold (and of course, I do love the pain).

For the latter, I guess I just wanted to know what's up with the shenanigans going on in the past life, and also it was a bit like watching a trainwreck. It was quite dramatic and all that.

I'm trying to think of other cnovels where I disliked the main characters but still finished it and drawing a bit of a blank, hm. I have dropped novels for that though (sorry erha and misvil) and I think it's because I was not emotionally convinced about the world, characters, etc., if that makes sense?

[anne]

I dropped Misvil too, I just couldn't make myself care. I keep thinking I'll go back to Erha now that more volumes have come out, but on the other hand there are so many books I'm really excited about...(but I would have eaten Immortality up with a spoon, sob sob)

[geraineon]

I can share what made me bounce off erha elsewhere, and you can make a judgment, if that'd help? I know it's a well-loved series in EN fandom so I generally just try not to say too much about it in public, ahaha.

[anne]

I'd be interested, yes!

[geraineon]

Sent PM!

[shipperslist]

Have you read stories where you disliked everyone and yet still finished the story?
Yes, but not C-novels. 2ha has come close but that's more about the story and not the MCs.

[geraineon]

What non-cnovels did you finish while disliking everyone?

[shipperslist]

*checks book log tag*

Well... Pirkko Saisio's Betoniyö, Sailing with her wolf by Ariel Marie, A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J.Penner, to mention a few. The first was my own choice and I pushed through because I wanted to know what Saisio was doing, the two other books were reading challenge books which was the ONLY reason I finished.

[anne]

No cnovels, but Wuthering Heights and Madame Bovary for sure. These days, if I dislike anything at all about a book, I drop it instantly. Hate-reading can be cathartic, but lately I'm just not in the mood for it. Delight or nothing!

[lessonsinescapology]

WH was a fascinating train wreck. At least from what I remember.

[anne]

About all I remember is my confusion at how my peers were starry-eyed about The Romance.

[lessonsinescapology]

The romance was very unhealthy from what I recall😅 Beautiful prose though.

[anne]

yeah exactly! "Sooooooo romantic" NO IT ISN'T

[geraineon]

Wuhtering Heights is one of the only two books I ever threw at the wall in frustration/anger. I DNF-ed.

Idk if I'll have higher tolerance for it now, considering all the trash I sometimes read just for The Drama. XD

[anne]

I might have a different opinion now, but...there's so much else I haven't read yet!

[lessonsinescapology]

If I don't like the main characters or pairing then I'm not reading it XD

[geraineon]

XD Fair!

[snowynight]

When I want to wallow in my favourite niche trope, I can keep reading despite unlikable mc. Some tropes work better with MC I don't really care, like physical cremation/dark kinky dubcon/noncon. It's a fine line though, because protagonist centred morality is a big turn off to me.

[lee_bella]

Some tropes work better with MC I don't really care

I agree. It depends on the story and how the main character is being handled.

[geraineon]

100% Protagonist centered morality is a turn off for me too. When I'm reading stories with protagonists I don't like, I need the story to be clear that the protagonist is not meant to be liked because of their negative traits.

[halfcactus]

.......Typically yes, but I've also been reading a lot of trashy het romance webtoons. 😂 Cold domineering CEO probably isn't really my type of love interest, but I'll take it for the petty revenge tropes. 😂 I recently returned to a modern het romance manhua (錯撩 Accidental Love) that I'd dropped because everyone was so stupid, because I heard that they were going through the breakup arc and I wanted to see the domineering CEO ML being pathetic ahahaha.

I guess MDZS also counts? I remember not really caring about novel!Lan Wangji but that didn't really impact my enjoyment of the novel. With romance storylines, it's usually the MC who's more important to me, I don't mind when the love interests are sort of just there for them.

[geraineon]

Haha, I read a lot of trashy BL. The catharsis when the cold/mean/awful person gets their just desserts, yess

I didn't care about LWJ either... hm, I didn't hate both of them, I just didn't like the MC and the ML in MDZS. But I liked the other characters a lot so I finished it.

[lee_bella]

Yes, because I still wanted to see how the story ends so that I don't have to keep wondering about it. Mistakenly Saving the Villain is one of them.

There's also The Whole Sect Is Acting Strange (师门上下都不对劲) by Wang San Shan. The main character's character arc and growth were actually handled quite well in my opinion, and the crematorium aspect was satisfying. I just really dislike the main love interest.

Meng Xi Shi's xianxia novel Nine Heavens (九霄) is another one (the main love interest is of the same type as the one in the aforementioned The Whole Sect Is Acting Strange). With Meng Xi Shi's xianxia novel, I prefer Estranged (参商) over this one.

I also read Tang Jiu Qing's Zhuoying (濯缨) to the end even though I don't care for either of the main characters. I still finished it because the main couple from The Wilful Minister (恣睢之臣) had cameos here.

Liking the main character isn't a prerequisite for me. Sometimes it's fun to step outside my comfort zone and read about an unlikable main character so long as the story keeps me interested.

[geraineon]

Yeah, sometimes the story is really compelling and can overcome dislike of main character and I actually appreciate it if the main characters are not meant to be likeable, and the story knows it.