Do characters have to be likeable?

A much-debated question among writers and readers is whether characters in a story have to be “likeable”. Some people can’t enjoy stories where they don’t like the characters. Others enjoy the complexities of flawed, unpleasant characters. But I don’t think likeability is the real issue.

Readers aren’t necessarily very good at describing why a book doesn’t work for them. It’s one thing to be able to sense that a story isn’t working for you, and another thing entirely to accurately diagnose th...