Books I Loathed discussion

An a-hole book is a book where the characters are total a-holes, yet you're supposed to like them. And, not in a Tony Soprano kind of a way where the character is an extremely complex and well-written creation and a major part of the story is that you are sympathetic towards him in spite of the reprehensible way he behaves. Characters in these books are merely a-holes -- perhaps really self-involved, whine a lot, treat others horribly, have an inflated sense of themselves, relish being victims, etc. People who if you met them in real life you wouldn't be able to stand them. You know you're reading an "a-hole book", if you're supposed to looooove these characters and totally "get" them.

Some examples? "Run, Catch, Kiss" by Amy Sohn; "Ralph's Party" by Lisa Jewell; "4 Blondes" by Candace Bushnell

You'll notice these books tend to be lighter fare, as more serious books tend to include complex characters who fit into the Tony Soprano model mentioned above.

Call me crazy but Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein are all that's coming to mind. However, I'm not sure whether we are meant to identify with those characters or not.

The lead character in "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester is incredibly loathsome.

David Foster Wallace wrote a review of a novel by John Updike, where he said that the main character is in a great deal of pain, but that it never occurs to the character that the main reason he's unhappy is that he's an asshole.

I think WUTHERING HEIGHTS kind of has both kinds of character. Heathcliff is pretty monstrous, but fascinating, a la Tony Soprano. That vile Catherine Earnshaw bitch is the single worst person I've ever come across in all my reading: she has not a single redeeming or interesting characteristic. She is a poisonous c*ck-teasing c*nt who dies a not nearly painful enough death.

The best thing I can say about her is that she at least dies, leaving the rest of the novel unfouled by her presence. And we're supposed to see her as being some kind of fine pure noble girl, her love for Heathcliff being one for the ages, and all that crap.

Feh. I wish I knew where Catherine was buried, so I could go shit on her grave.

FALL ON YOUR KNEES. That is unless you dig prostitutes, child molestors, ignorance, drunks....

Confessions of a Shopaholic!! All Rebecca does is lie, yet she just keeps getting rewarded for it. She doesn't even really learn that much of a lesson, either.
And the movie sucked! Isla Fisher shouldn't have to stoop so low.

Artykat wrote: "Confessions of a Shopaholic!! All Rebecca does is lie, yet she just keeps getting rewarded for it. She doesn't even really learn that much of a lesson, either.

Thank god someone else hated these books. I actually got through the first one ok, but by the second one I just couldn't take it. If Rebecca was a real person I would have shaken her and yelled about learning some personal responsibility. I never made it through the second book.

Victor from Glamorama.
Look, I get that the point of his character was to be a shallow, narcissistic little prick but there's only so much shallow, narcissitic, prickery I can take before I'm just like, "Let's stab this guy and call it a day, shall we?"
total a-hole...

The girl (Ana?) from My Sister's Keeper. The only interesting characters in that book were the secondary characters, like the lawyer and Julia or the brother Jesse. She was just whiny and annoying.
Siddhartha. I really wanted to like him, but I couldn't.
Louise from Interview with the Vampire. Couldn't her just get over himself and accept that he was a vampire? I mean, I know he had to kill people and all, but he complained about it for 200 freaking years! Ahh! What a whiny little pansy character.
Everyone in A Separate Piece. Holy cow. Yes, Phinny is a great guy and everyone loves him, and I'm sorry you can't get over that, Mr main character. I'm sorry that their happened to be a war going on at the time, but you know what? You weren't even in it, so I don't freaking care. Get over yourselves and quit freaking out about every little thing.

THE. BELL. JAR. I loved that book when I was in high school. I read it again after college and what a pathetic, self-loathing prick.

Holden Caufield is kind of annoying, but I think it's just that he's a kid more than any personal assholery.

people,very is you,nothing is night,the moon is people crazy. ¿SIDHARTA? IS one river, the life totality? yes, i do.My love for the herman Hesse is fox, no,is wolf in lonely, under many writers crazys, up the river in lonelylove. People in the stars absolutly, yes,absolut,hip,hip,hip-hop sun of the beach,people very is you, crazy, crazy in happy day. ¿what day? these in the lonely moon,forever,forever whit the flower in crazy day.
harryhalleris dead.

Emily, the Rice vampires do not have to kill to stay alive. They can choose to just drink a little bit from more than one "donor". So if Louis didn't want to kill, he didn't have to kill. He is my least favorite Rice vampire. But mostly I like the earlier books in the series.

The Good Mother is another one where the lead character isn't really very sympathetic. She purports to be a devoted mother but has a disastrous affair and winds up emotionally damaging her daughter.

Geoffrey wrote: "Ignatius J. Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces is certainly set up in that way, and I suppose you could make arguments for the interstitial characters, too."

I agree. I know he is supposed to be "Rabelaisian" but I thought he was obnoxious and dirty.

Sandi wrote: "The lead character in "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester is incredibly loathsome."

Gully Foyle? He certainly was. But it was a ripping tale, wasn't it?

You want loathesome, read Golem 100, Bester's third and last novel. Stank up the place. On the other hand, don't miss "The Demolished Man," another great novel with a loathesome character.

"Tenser, said the tensor,
Tenser, said the tensor;
Tension, apprehension, and dissension have begun."

grrrrrrr..., to drink, very people drrinking..¡what?
bloor, no, no, blood, vorka, beerrrrr,sex in the noght,no, night, whisky from tequila.