: Is it a good idea to make the protagonist unlikable while making the supporting characters more likable? My protagonist is a very shitty person that makes bad decisions for the wrong reasons.

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Give the reader something to connect to early on, and the protagonist doesn't even need to redeem themselves. (No reason why they shouldn't, it's just that it isn't necessary for not alienating the reader.

My favourite example is Humbert Humbert from "Lolita". The man is a paedophile. He's despicable. Yet he's so intelligent, so sharp, so engaging, you keep reading.

Another example: Satan in "Paradise Lost". His pride, his independence, his leadership, even his language, evoke not only empathy, but admiration. "The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n." or "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven" - it's beautiful, and easy to identify with.

Nonetheless, I find your description troubling.

a very shitty person that makes bad decisions for the wrong reasons

If your character is petty, cruel, stupid, and doesn't have any desire to change, what engaging quality does he have that I can connect to? He might have one, but if so, you haven't mentioned it. You've got to give a reader something.

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You want a character to be engaging, not necessarily likable. Breaking Bad doesn't have a likable or even sympathetic protagonist; it has a competent one and an engaging mystery. An unlikable character is a handicap, so everything else you write will have to carry the dead weight; but it is possible to turn that dead weight, that liability, into an asset.

The seven deadly words of a book are: "I do not care about these people."

Note, it's not "this person", but if a reader doesn't care about anyone in the story, they are likely to put it down and often correct to. Engagement/Caring doesn't mean like; but you should be answering the question "Why does the reader care?" often and strongly. Books that undersell often have this problem.

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It doesn't have to. Even if the guy is a unlikeable and a jerk, make him human. Give him reasons for his flaws. The reader will be connected to the character at least on this level.

I recently read a detective story where the main character wasn't very likeable. Yet, the author had reasons for all of the character's flaws. The character was interesting and deep. As the story progressed, the character became more likeable as you realized why he had his flaws.

However, if you are going to take this approach realize that your readers likely won't be there for the characters. There are some stories that focus around character more than the plot. If you have an unlikeable character, I would caution against focusing on the characters too much.

I think this approach (unlikeable character who eventually redeems himself) can create a much more memorable story than if your followed the common pattern of a likeable protagonist.

In summary, I think it can definitely work, but give the character reasons for his flaws and try to have an captivating story to make up for the lack of a likeable character.

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