How often have you heard/read these comments about why a reader didn't like a particular book?
I didn't care about the main character.
I couldn't relate to the characters.
I didn't like the character.
Why would that he/she react that way? That's not what I would say/do/feel.
I didn't feel a connection to the character.
When did immersing ourselves in a good book become all about our ability to relate?
When did we start expecting protagonists to think and act like we do?
One of the great joys of reading fiction (and writing fiction) is discovering characters who are not like us, to take journeys we might never take, to meet people we will never meet, to become of the relationships of other characters, and to perhaps behave in ways we might never behave...or even think of behaving.
Following a character through reading is the closest we'll ever get into other people's heads to follow their thinking patterns, their emotions, their decisions, who and what they love.
Sometimes I can relate to characters, sometimes I cannot.
Sometimes I can sympathize or empathize to characters, sometimes I cannot.
But I never leave a book, a good book or a bad book, without a wider perspective...or sometimes a narrower perspective.
People read for different reasons, of course. And this is not to suggest people should read MY way.
But...
I didn't care about the main character.
I couldn't relate to the characters.
I didn't like the character.
Why would that he/she react that way? That's not what I would say/do/feel.
I didn't feel a connection to the character.
When did immersing ourselves in a good book become all about our ability to relate?
When did we start expecting protagonists to think and act like we do?
One of the great joys of reading fiction (and writing fiction) is discovering characters who are not like us, to take journeys we might never take, to meet people we will never meet, to become of the relationships of other characters, and to perhaps behave in ways we might never behave...or even think of behaving.
Following a character through reading is the closest we'll ever get into other people's heads to follow their thinking patterns, their emotions, their decisions, who and what they love.
Sometimes I can relate to characters, sometimes I cannot.
Sometimes I can sympathize or empathize to characters, sometimes I cannot.
But I never leave a book, a good book or a bad book, without a wider perspective...or sometimes a narrower perspective.
People read for different reasons, of course. And this is not to suggest people should read MY way.
But...
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