About a month ago, I mentioned in a post that I had recently read a couple books that I loved, and one book that “completely irritated me.” I was surprised by the number of commenters who were curious about that book — the one I didn’t love. The one that bugged me.
Since then, I’ve been debating whether or not to talk about it. My general approach is to not bash too many books (or products, or pretty much anything) on this blog. If I read a book I really don’t like, I usually just don’t mention it at all.
But since so many of you wanted to know more, I decided on a compromise this time. I won’t give you the title, and I won’t link to it. But I will tell you a bit about this oh-so-irritating book.
The book was about three women who were all married to one man. Not at the same time, but over the course of his life. Three very different women, one obnoxious man.
Presumably, the novel was meant to explore life, and marriage, and how women often find themselves in unfulfilling or unhealthy marriages.
I’m not sure what I expected. The writing was fine — nothing about the prose or structure of the book bothered me. The premise was even intriguing.
But something was missing, big time.
I guess perhaps I’ve come to take it for granted, but in order for me to truly enjoy a novel, I need to identify with one of the characters. Or if I can’t identify with a character, I need to at least like one of the characters. I want to cheer for the protagonist, root for the underdog, hope for a satisfying resolution.
But in this book? I couldn’t stand any of the main characters.
The husband — the man who married all three of the women featured in the novel — was a jerk. He was an opportunist, a user, a liar, a self-indulgent brat. One reviewer of the book claimed that she “wanted to hate him” but just couldn’t. Well… I came pretty close. Not a single redeeming quality.
And what about the three women? Maybe I’m just hard-hearted, but I found it difficult to pity any of them. Each of the three married the guy for no good reason. Not one of them went into marriage thinking clearly. They didn’t question a thing about the man, they barely knew him, they seemed desperate to get married to any random male who promised them love. Yes, he was a smooth talker. But he was a smooth talker without a bit of substance. But none of the three took the time to figure that out before becoming his next “Mrs.”
The wives were not jerks. I didn’t have anything against them, personally. It’s just it felt like I was “supposed” to feel bad for them…but I couldn’t. They jumped into marriage, were easily manipulated, and blindly trusted a man about whom they knew very little. I know this happens “in real life,” but a book about three of them in a row? I suppose I just didn’t have the patience for it.
There were a few characters I felt sympathy for — the man’s kids. But I didn’t feel they were sufficiently developed to redeem the book in my eyes.
I admit, I did read the book quickly. Not because it was so good, but because I thought that surely, surely I would find something redeeming, someone to cheer for, something to praise about the book. But, alas… I turned the last page and just felt…Ick. Ugh. Yuck.
Perhaps it came down to respect. I just didn’t respect any of the characters. The featured women could have avoided all their heartache and misery by using a little common sense.
Let me assure you, I am far more compassionate toward real people. 
I mean, I still think people should exercise common sense, but when they find themselves in a horrid situation, my heart goes out to them. Apparently, I’m a little tougher when it comes to novels.
So now you know. You know that if I feel like I can’t cheer for or respect the main characters in a novel, it really annoys me.
But what about you? What makes a novel highly irritating to you?
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