So, I have recently finished a book by Elin Hilderbrand called Barefoot. Now, I enjoyed the book, and I quickly ate up every word. I connected with some of the characters, and I enjoyed the love story of some of the other characters. The problem is, there is one character that I absolutely HATED. I mean HATED. My understanding is that she was supposed to be portrayed as someone who isn't perfect, and she isn't, by any means, the heroine in the story. But I HATED her. It almost made it unbearable to read. She was a woe-is-me, selfish, aggravating person. Who I know - in real life. I've got some friends like this woman. And she personified everything I do not like in these friends of mine (not a book club friend). So, my question to everyone is, have you ever confronted this in a book? What have you done? Were you able to finish the book? Did it detract from the story or add to it?
I was able to finish the book, as I said above. It was a touching story about a sister who is dealing with lung cancer, another sister who is dealing with the loss of her job in a scandalous fashion, and a friend who is in a bad marriage and just found out she's pregnant. They all go to Nantucket for the summer to swallow what has happened in their worlds. Love, heartbreak, intrigue. I still enjoyed the book, despite my dislike of a main character. I recommend it, although partially because I'm curious what other people think of Brenda. (I am also somewhat selfish in my motivations, apparently. Hmm...)
1 comment:
Hmmm... intriguing question Liz.
I have to say right off the bat that while I thoroughly enjoy processing the life struggles of my friends and family and of course working through my own issues day by day, I loathe reading books about other people's struggles. Call me self-centered or maybe just jaded by my line of work, but I can rarely get through a book in which the focus is "real people", inherently flawed in a way that I find annoying or not, and their problems.
That being said, I just started a book by Anne Lamott entitled Operating Instructions. It is about her experience having a baby at 35 and single - yes a real person struggling with real problems. To address your question, if I found the main character of this book to be as irritating as it sounds like you found the woman in your book, I have to say I would put the book down and probably never pick it up again! On the other hand, I am recently drawn to stories of mothers and mothering... oh and yes... my proverbial clock is ticking... a gentle tick... but for the first time in my life... it is a consistent tick.
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