Does the reader need to like the PoV character?

Question

I have the feeling this is already been asked, but I can't seem to find it. Close the question if it comes out as duplicate.There's an issue with novels with a first-person narrator, or a third person limited narrator that doesn't switch point of view. Namely, the reader is stuck for all the novel with the same character.**Does the reader need to like the character?** Of course, it seems a nice thing to have, but is it **necessary**? Even if the narrator follows just one character, there is usually more that's happening in a novel. The plot. The other characters and their struggles. The worldbuilding. Are those elements enough to make a story interesting* despite the unlikeablity of the PoV character?---*NB: Interesting, here, means that the readere will keep reading it to the end.

Answer 1

It is definitely harder to write an unlikable POV, but that doesn't always need to be the case - see Game of Thrones characters Theon Greyjoy in A Clash of Kings, Jaime Lannister in A Storm of Swords, and Cersei Lannister in A Feast for Crows.

Of course, POV characters tend to become more likable simply because we get to see all their thoughts and feelings and end up understanding their motivations - after all, even a villain has good reasons for their actions, so long as they're well-written. And don't worry about the story not being "interesting" if the reader doesn't like the POV; rooting *against* a character can be just as intriguing as rooting *for* them.