Brendan answers “Why do people like this book? I'm only up...”

Paul Donovan asked this question about Lucky Jim:

Why do people like this book? I'm only up to chapter 5, but the main character is a real prat. He is crude and self-obsessed. How are we supposed to empathise with his plight or hope he will succeed when he is so unlikeable?

Brendan Basically for all the same reasons you're complaining about. I bet you don't like "A Confederacy of Dunces," either.

I feel a little sorry for readers …moreBasically for all the same reasons you're complaining about. I bet you don't like "A Confederacy of Dunces," either.

I feel a little sorry for readers who are preoccupied with "likability" in fictional characters. In this case, though, I can't imagine what kind of monstrous puritan could possess a heart so stony as to dislike Jim Dixon. Of course he's crude and self-obsessed, not to mention a drunk of impressive stamina. He's also a class hero at war with bourgeois pretension. He's the nerd who gets the girl in the end.(less)

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