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Unlikeable Characters That May Be Worth Our Time
Before shunning people we dislike, books tell us we might want to explore some of them.
Signals
The universe has a way of sending us subtle messages. One only needs to tune in. I find the messages quite revealing. I just called it the universe, but sometimes I say it is my body that I listen to. Religious folk will say it’s the god or gods of their creed, and their alternative counterparts will say it is the energy around us. It doesn’t matter how we refer to it: the idea is to observe reality in a manner that informs our actions, rather than go about life throwing stuff at the wall and see what sticks. I let this practice advise what I eat and read and watch, and even the people I spend time with or altogether avoid.
Obnoxious Characters
Recently, it has been obnoxious literary characters that I’ve been bumping into. I am reading a novel where every chapter is narrated from a different character’s point of view. There are five or six main characters through which the narration advances. I find one of them unbearably infuriating. In the past, I have enjoyed reading passages written from the antagonist’s perspective; I consider this to be a fascinating literary approach. However, this one, while not being the evilest character…