Do you need to like the characters to like the book?

[Carol]

Man there goes another book for my pile. You all are breaking my budget. I just added The House of Sand and Fog.

[Sara]

well, I'll be the voice of dissent: I really disliked House of Sand and Fog, although not because of the unlikable characters. The writing was over-the-top and unbelievable for me. Just didn't buy it.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I can certainly understand that, Sara. Here's a link to a discussion we had: http://constantreader.com/discussions...
although my initial impression is that it's more about Oprah books and libraries. I hope we get down to the nitty-gritty of the book later on, but I didn't reread the whole thing.

[Sara]

That is an interesting thread, Sherry. At the time I read it, I did read a bunch of comments on Amazon complaining about how "dirty" it was with all the sex, which made me laugh, because without the addictive quality of the affair, I don't think the rest of the book happens.

But, overall, I just remember it feeling quite false on the whole to me.

[Peggy]

I haven't read Sand and Fog, but I watched the movie during a particularly low period, and it destroyed me. And even then, I thought the ending felt false.

[Sara]

Peggy wrote: "I haven't read Sand and Fog, but I watched the movie during a particularly low period, and it destroyed me. And even then, I thought the ending felt false."

The ending was really a problem for me, too, although I haven't seen the movie.

[Charles]

MAP wrote: "Another one of those books is House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III, which I absolutely loved, and many of my friends hated me for recommending. None of the three main characters had redeeming ..."

The House of Sand and Fog was a nice movie. "Reader Beware" would have to go on every book, wouldn't it? That's not going to work ...

[Kat]

I fell off the edge of the GoodReads earth for a bit, just now climbing back on. I thought HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (which I read years ago, didn't try to reread it) very good, but intensely hard to read due to my empathy with the characters. Also, though there are many books during the reading of which you know a tragedy is coming, usually that knowledge only lasts a brief time--in this book you had to carry it for a substantial fraction of the novel. I think that's a lot to ask of a reader.

[Barbara]

Kat wrote: "I fell off the edge of the GoodReads earth for a bit, just now climbing back on. I thought HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (which I read years ago, didn't try to reread it) very good, but intensely hard to r..."

Well said, Kat. This was one of the few books that I simply couldn't finish for exactly that reason. I was listening to it in an excellent audiobook production and perhaps that made it harder for me to distance myself. I'm not sure of that though because I think the print edition would have captured me just as much. I thought the writing was excellent. But, it was like seeing a crash coming on the freeway and I couldn't keep watching.

[Ann D]

I agree with you both Kat and Barbara. The House of Sand and Fog was difficult for me not because I didn't like the characters, but because I was able to sympathize with them too much. Personally, I found the train wreck at the end believable, but it was difficult to experience vicariously.

A book I recently finished, Any Human Heart, has a protagonist that many people find unlikable. His womanizing and drinking also me feel that way at times, but I stuck with the book and found this character had the ability to change and hold onto his own version of integrity. It helped that he had all kinds of interesting experiences and "real life" acquaintances. I plan on nominating it next time for CR.

[Bernadette]

Actually it is worse if a person thinks he or she is one of the one of the (not so likable) characters in a book. Read this column for a bit of background.

[Ann D]

Fun article, Bernadette. Thanks for posting it.