Unpopular opinion: character flaws make a book better, not worse

My coworker Jen said she stopped reading The Goldfinch because Theo was too annoying, but I think a protagonist being a mess is what made me actually believe the story and finish the 771 pages in 3 days.

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.mia3d ago

Oh man, this is so true! I had the same thing happen with The Goldfinch actually. People complain about Theo's bad decisions but that's exactly what made the book feel real to me. If he was perfect and made smart choices the whole time I would have put it down halfway through. I read this novel last year where the main character kept doing the right thing and being nice to everyone and I just got bored and stopped caring. Flaws make characters feel like actual humans you know? Like they have real problems and mess up the same way we do. That messy honesty is what pulls me into a story and keeps me turning pages even when the book is huge.

jamesfox3d ago

Tbh @ellis.mia wait, people actually complained about Theo in The Goldfinch? That's wild to me.