Guest Blog Post, Darrin Doyle: What’s Not to Like?

Darrin DoyleOne of the first (of many) rejections of my novel Revenge of the Teacher’s Pet was from an editor who wrote, “I fear that not even Nabokov’s literary skills could make Mr. Portwit into a likable character.”  The character he referred to was Dale Portwit, one of the protagonists of my novel. Mr. Portwit is a 50-year-old middle-school teacher who is, to put it kindly, self-serving, obnoxious, and stubborn. One of his quirks, for example, is insisting that everyone refer to him as “Mr. Portwit” instead of “Dale” because he believes “first-name usage is a privilege, not a right.”

When my second novel, The Girl Who Ate Kalamazoo, was released, it received some fine praise in a few local newspapers and literary blogs. But the Publisher’s Weekly review was the one I had been waiting eagerly to read. They called my book “relentlessly inventive.” I was thrilled. However, the PW review went on to assert that my characters were “irredeemably unlikable,” which made it difficult to care about the “bizarre goings-on.”

Suddenly all the positive comments I had received didn’t matter: What stuck in my craw was that phrase – “irredeemably unlikable.” I pondered it: Are my characters really that unlikable? In what way? What makes a character likable, anyway? Is it essential to readers that they “like” the protagonists of the books they read? What does it even mean to “like” a character? The concept felt foreign to me.

In 7th grade, I read To Build a Fire by Jack London. It was life-changing. I loved the story so much that I even read it aloud for a class presentation. To Build a Fire is the story of a man (known only as “the man”) who is trekking in the Arctic on his way to another research outpost. The temperature is so cold, however, that all of the “old-timers” have warned him not to venture out alone. He ignores their advice, believing himself to be a capable enough outdoorsman to make it easily. Spoiler alert: the man makes a few crucial mistakes and ends up freezing to death in the snowy wasteland. His supersized ego, his belief that his intelligence and rational thinking are more powerful than nature, ultimately leads to his downfall.

In retrospect, I realize that To Build a Fire was a template for the type of story I loved. Nothing touchy-feely or overly sentimental, yet packing a powerful emotional punch. Something that pushes us to question our role on Earth, the very essence of human existence. No feeling of closeness or affection for the main character; “the man” is not someone I idolized or felt a kinship with or “liked” in any specific fashion. But certainly I was invested in him. Certainly I enjoyed living briefly in his skin. My 8th grade was spent blazing through Stephen King’s novels (and Peter Straub and Dean Koontz – I liked horror). By high school, I had moved on to more so-called “literary” authors: Kafka, Poe, John Kennedy Toole, Dostoevsky, Camus.

The opening passage of The Stranger encapsulates the personality of the narrator, Muersault: “Mother died today; or maybe yesterday.” This is only the beginning of Mersault’s journey of detachment through the novel. He ends up confronting and killing a man on a public beach, apparently for no reason. When Muersault is brought to trial, he offers no defense whatsoever for his actions. In other words, a loveable guy!

Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, Twain’s Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court, Wright’s Native Son, Nabokov’s Lolita, Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Frank Norris’s McTeague – the hall of my literary heroes, when I step back and catalogue it, is a rogue’s gallery of unlikable characters. I doubt that most people, myself included, would want to spend an afternoon with any of these folks if they were made of flesh and blood. So what does this say about me, as a person? Am I a miscreant, a misanthrope, a misfit?

The honest and boring answer is that I’m none of these things. I don’t like to use the word “average,” but I’m a pretty average guy, at least on the surface. But maybe it’s because I’m a fairly average person that I’m drawn to these unsavory characters. Fiction allows me to walk in the shoes of people who are nothing like me; to observe from a safe distance as characters explore the dark, the absurd, the tragic, and the comically misguided aspects of the self. I can safely live inside the mind of an oddball, a criminal, a buffoon, and then retreat into my own drab routine. The truth is that I read and write stories, in part, in order to live things – people, places, philosophies, beliefs, fears, desires – that I don’t get to experience during my daily grind.

So if my characters are “irredeemably unlikable,” if they are grotesque or “weird,” I can be OK with that – as long as they aren’t predictable or flat. Above all, they must be capable of redemption. Their likability may be “irredeemable,” but I hope their souls aren’t. I’m not interested in perfect characters. I’m not looking for drinking buddies or racquetball partners. I’m not interested in someone like me. Lord knows, I get enough of myself seven days a week.

I don’t seek repellant characters. I don’t set out to create monsters. But I do seek difficult, flawed characters that will push me out of my comfort zone. Three-dimensional people, warts and all; people that are good and bad, ugly and beautiful, sinful and heroic; characters in need of grace.

Don’t misunderstand: there’s nothing wrong with likable characters. I love a charming, personable narrator as much as the next person. I love Scout and Bilbo Baggins and all those adorable and valiant rabbits from Watership Down. Readers seek camaraderie and friendship in the novels they love; or a feeling of connection to experiences and personalities that are familiar.

But as I continue to write, I’ll remind myself that there’s no way to predict what readers want. It’s impossible, and it’s a losing game. The amazing thing about storytelling is that it’s a two-way street; the reader brings their own life to every text they pick up, and they actively help create the characters on the page. All I can do is keep seeing the world the way I see it, trying to push myself and write characters that are living, breathing people, and raise the unanswerable questions about why we’re here.

Meet The Interns: Anthony Torres

Anthony Torres is a senior completing his last year at Arizona State University studying English Literature. He plans to attend graduate school in either linguistic studies or literature. His long-term goal is to be an editor at one of the major publishing houses. Along with his internship with Superstition Review, he also works freelance at the number one outsourcing company online, Burn Your To Do List, where he writes and proofreads article submissions to clients. This is his first semester with Superstition Review.

Superstition Review: What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

Anthony Torres: I am one of two art editors currently working with Superstition Review. As an editor our main job is to choose different works of art from different artists to have in our magazine. Along with choosing artists for our magazine, we also get to correspond with contributors, which includes sending rejection/acceptance notices, as well as asking contributors to advertise in our issue, and to gather headshots and bios of each artist that we select for the magazine.

SR: Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review?

AT: I first got involved with Superstition Review because it was one of the only internships that I was offered where I can actually get hands on learning experience in order to become an editor specifically. Once my education is complete, I will venture off in the world where I hopefully can become an editor for a magazine or publishing company one day, and with the skills that I will learn with Superstition Review I can feel better about doing so.

SR: Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

AT: I currently work freelance for the number one outsourcing company online, as their proofreader/writer. As well, I am also employed with Apple Inc. and spend most of my free time with either of those two jobs. My education is also a primary part of my day-to-day life. So studying takes up most of my time as well, and I usually spend my weekends with friends and family.

SR: What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

AT: I would also like to try interning as the advertising coordinator. I think that’s a major aspect of a magazine, that I feel like I could do some major damage too, in a good way of course!

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary works.

AT: This may be the existentialist me that currently seems to be possessing my body, but The Stranger by Albert Camus has got to be one of my favorites.

SR: What are you currently reading?

AT: Currently, I’m reading Franz Kafka’s The Trial and have been getting into more Albert Camus and existentialist sort of readings. They seem to be attracting my attention right now so I’ll just go with it.

SR: Creatively, what are you currently working on?

AT: As far as writing goes, I write everyday, or try to, whether it be keeping track of current thoughts in my head or just writing to write, the power that a pen and paper have is incredible and to do that every day is amazing. I also dabble a bit with photography, nothing extravagant but its fun to photograph your world, a kind of frozen memory.

SR: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

AT: In 10 years I see myself out of the internship realm and hopefully well into my career goal as an editor. Possibly employed with a great magazine company or even one of the major publishing houses. Either way, in 10 years, I see myself being happy.