Bad characters

Are we supposed to like all the characters we read about? I mean, we probably like to hiss the bad guys, but what about books where even the hero is a bad guy, or there's just nobody all that good? '"I didn't like any of the characters" is a complaint made frequently, everywhere from televised book clubs to reviews on blogs and online bookstores...Why bother to engage with difficult, demanding characters when we don't have to? This is a great shame: it's reductive, and antithetical to what literature is about.' More... (Via)