The antiheroes who "work" for me have qualities that make
them sympathetic. NOT necessarily likable. Some
examples:
Joe Lon in _A Feast of Snakes_, certainly one of the most
despicable characters I've encountered lately. Yet, every
time he's a heal to someone, he feels terrible afterwards.
We've probably all done things, said things that we hated
while we were doing/saying them, and hated ourselves for them
later. Self-hatred may not be a likable trait, but it is (for
me) a sympathetic trait.
Frank in _The Postman Always Rings Twice_. Who (at least,
among the males out there) can't feel sympathy for a guy who
thinks with his balls?
Charlie Arglist in _The Ice Harvest_. There's not a whole lot
that's likable about Charlie. Still... the intense desire to
thumb your nose at your current life and get the hell out of
Dodge may not be an admirable trait, but it's something I
suspect everyone fantasizes about from time to time.
In contrast, I didn't have much sympathy for Lou Ford (_The
Killer Inside Me_), and I certainly didn't like him, but I
liked the story anyway. Why? Because I thought Thompson did a
great job getting into the mind of a sociopath. Very
creepy.
Ultimately (to state the very obvious) you have to care about
the character. Even if it is just the fascination with the
abomination (as with Lou Ford).
Doug Hoffman
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