I’m currently 70% through Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov and though it’s an amazing book and I absolutely want to finish it, it’s getting harder every page because of how much I detest the titular character. Goncharov really does a great job at showing all of Oblomov’s inner workings. I could do with less of that, it’s so well-written but how on earth does Oblomov bear being Oblomov even for a day? It’s genuinely too much for me to handle to watch him drive his entire life into the ground for no reason. (As an interesting aside: when the book was published in 1859, most of the readership actually sympathised with Oblomov. The author did not understand that and neither do I.)
Have you ever experienced something similar? If so, were you able to finish the book?
by rqaiu
1 Comment
I really don’t care even a little about how likable the protagonist is. I’m trying to read a book not make a fictional friend, as I’ve said before, and so I don’t see why it should matter to me. Some of the best novels I’ve read had absolutely horrid protagonists (Humbert), some novels with likable protagonists were mediocre and thus I didn’t like the books.