Main Characters by Bobby Palmer: A Review
I have just finished what is possibly one of the most interesting books of 2026: Main Characters by Bobby Palmer.
This book is interesting in that its premise is one of a kind, using a technique never seen before. The novel follows Clara and Seb, our two main characters, and their love story. However, this isn’t a normal love story; this is one told from the perspectives of everyone but the main characters, helping us as readers to see a more rounded-out and non-biased view of their relationship.
We see the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the good and the bad, all told through a variety of characters, some close to the protagonists (family, friends, coworkers), and some complete strangers (a barista, a photographer, a dog walker, etc).
With this approach, I went into this novel excited and eager to see how Palmer would approach a concept like this. Having now read it, I can say that it wasn’t what I was expecting per say, but it was still fascinating. Even though we never directly got Clara or Seb’s point of view, it was still easy to piece together their emotions through the eyes of the people observing them. We could still see their feelings, understand what they were going through, and sympathize with them. So in a way, I felt like we did get their point of view and could easily see what they were feeling.
The writing was beautiful, but it didn’t carry out throughout the whole story. And while these are simply some problems I have with it, it is still a book with a very unique concept with a messy romance (which I always love).
Overall, Main Characters is a book for readers looking for a different kind of read, one that’s innovative, interesting, and powerful.
