The 20 Most Hated Characters in Books

They're not bad—they're just written that way.

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Published Feb 17, 2021

exasperated woman with book on her face — Photo Credit: Valerie Landel / Unsplash

Napoleon

Animal Farm Rejected Books High School Books

Animal Farm

By George Orwell

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Humbert Humbert

lolita, a book with one of the most hated characters

Lolita

By Vladimir Nabokov

Nurse Ratched

one flew over the cuckoo's nest, a book with one of the most hated characters

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran

the secret history by donna tartt, a book with a famous first line

The Secret History

By Donna Tartt

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen

Twilight Stephanie Meyer

Twilight

By Stephenie Meyer

Dolores Umbridge

female coming of age stories

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

By J.K. Rowling

Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregard, Mike TeeVee, and Veruca Salt

charlie and the chocolate factory by roald dahl, a book with some of the most hated characters

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

By Roald Dahl

Amy March

Buy Little Women at Amazon

Little Women

By Louisa May Alcott

Hamlet

hamlet by william shakespeare, a book with one of the most hated characters

Hamlet

By William Shakespeare

Ramsay Bolton

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin, a book with one of the most hated characters

A Clash of Kings

By George R.R. Martin

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Holden Caulfield

jd_salinger_books

The Catcher in the Rye

By J. D. Salinger

Light Yagami

death note, a manga with one of the most hated characters in books

Death Note

By Tsugumi Ohba

Mr. ______/Albert

Buy The Color Purple at Amazon

The Color Purple

By Alice Walker

Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meecham

Buy The Great Santini at Amazon

The Great Santini

By Pat Conroy

Patrick Bateman

musicals based on books, american psycho

American Psycho

By Bret Easton Ellis

Kevin Khatchadourian

we need to talk about kevin, a book with one of the most hated characters

We Need to Talk About Kevin

By Lionel Shriver

Sherman McCoy

the bonfire of the vanities, a book with one of the most hated characters

The Bonfire of the Vanities

By Tom Wolfe

Tom Buchanon

Buy The Great Gatsby at Amazon

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Uriah Heep

Buy David Copperfield at Amazon

David Copperfield

By Charles Dickens

Bill Sikes

Buy Oliver Twist at Amazon

Oliver Twist

By Charles Dickens

Literary Fiction