There seems to be an unwritten rule in fiction that you are supposed to root for the main character. They are meant to be relatable, morally sound, and fundamentally good people.
But if I’m being completely honest, some of my absolute favourite novels features characters who are utterly, shamelessly unlikeable, or those who make terrible decisions. For me, it’s not necessary to love the main character. I just have to understand them.
I’ve never quite understood dismissing a book because you dislike the main character. I don’t need a protagonist to be my best friend, and I don’t need them to be a moral compass. In fact, I absolutely love reading about protagonists I hate, or those who show negative human emotions.
For me, spending time with a polarising, messy character forces us to explore ourselves. There is something incredibly satisfying – even if it is deeply uncomfortable – about looking at a narrator making a spectacular life mistake and thinking, “Yeah, that wasn’t right, but I completely understand why they did that. And honestly? Under enough pressure, I might have done it too.”
If you want a book driven by raw, flawed human behavior that will make you cringe, gasp, or question your own boundaries, here are four brilliant novels with unlikeable protagonists.
1. The High-Society Grifter: Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
June Hayward is a struggling author who happens to witness the freak, accidental death of her literary superstar frenemy, Athena Liu. In the moment, June steals Athena’s newly finished, unpublished manuscript. She then edits it slightly, and publishes it under her own name as a re-branded, racially ambiguous version of herself.
- Why the Protagonist is Messy: June is a master of self-delusion. Throughout the entire book, she justifies her plagiarism and gaslights everyone around her to protect her stolen fame.
- The Vibe: This book reads like a fast-paced train wreck. June is so thoroughly defensive of her terrible choices that reading her inner monologue is both uncomfortable and incredibly addictive. You will find yourself reading it at lightning speed to see if she gets caught. It perfectly captures the crushing desperation of feeling invisible and failing at your lifelong dream.
2. The Ultimate Chemical Hibernation: My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Set in New York City this novel follows a young, beautiful, and wealthy graduate who decides the only logical way to deal with her internal grief is to spend an entire year chemically hibernating under a heavy cocktail of prescription drugs.
- Why the Protagonist is Messy: The narrator is notoriously cynical, cruel to her only friend, completely detached, and wallowing in her own privilege. She is deeply unpleasant to be around.
- The Vibe: Despite her complete lack of empathy, you cannot look away. Ottessa Moshfegh’s prose is razor-sharp and darkly funny. It is a brilliant, biting satire on modern life, consumerism, and coping mechanisms. You will be completely mesmerised by the narrator’s commitment to checking out of society to escape the absolute exhaustion of grief.
3. The Unfiltered Subversion of Adulthood: Luster by Raven Leilani
Edie is a twenty-something woman working a dead-end publishing job and making a series of chaotic, self-destructive romantic choices. Edie has an affair with an older man in an open marriage and eventually moves into his suburban family home. She then forms an unlikely bond with his wife and adopted daughter.
- Why the Protagonist is Messy: Edie is deeply uncoordinated in her own life. She is passive, makes terrible financial errors, actively participates in a messy domestic arrangement, and frequently pushes away anyone trying to help her.
- The Vibe: Raven Leilani’s writing is breathtakingly vivid and sharp. Edie isn’t unlikeable because she’s a villain; she’s unlikeable because she refuses to play the role of the “perfect, resilient victim.” She is allowed to be flawed, strange, and entirely human. It is a raw look at modern isolation and the precarity of being young today.
4. The Resentful Friendships: Expectation by Anna Hope
This novel follows three best friends – Hannah, Cate, and Lissa. They start their twenties full of art, activism, and grand plans, but by their thirties, life hasn’t played out how they expected.
- Why the Protagonists are Messy: These women aren’t cartoon villains; they are unlikeable in that deeply uncomfortable, hyper-realistic way. They envy each other’s lives. They suffer from quietly eating resentment – whether over effortless fertility or perceived freedom – and make small, selfish betrayals out of pure desperation.
- The Vibe: This book perfectly nails the panic of your 30s when the life you planned doesn’t match the reality you have. You read their petty thoughts and think, “That is an awful way to feel about your best friend,” but you immediately follow it with, “But god, I understand why she feels that way under the pressure of getting older.”
Over to You
I think that’s probably why I enjoy these kinds of books so much. I don’t necessarily want a protagonist I admire; sometimes I want someone who makes me uncomfortable, frustrates me and occasionally makes me think, God, I hope I never behave like that.
Have you read any of these? And do you need to like a protagonist to enjoy a book, or are you quite happy spending 300 pages with someone you’d probably avoid in real life?
