Such protagonists are sometimes called a ‘Mary Sue’ or ‘Marty Stu’, defined by wikipedia as "a character archetype in fiction, usually a young woman, who is often portrayed as inexplicably competent across all domains, gifted with unique talents or powers, liked or respected by most other characters, unrealistically free of weaknesses, extremely attractive, innately virtuous, and/or generally lacking meaningful character flaws. Usually female and almost always the main character, a Mary Sue is often an author's idealized self-insertion, and may serve as a form of wish-fulfillment. Mary Sue stories are often written by adolescent authors. ... As a literary trope, the Mary Sue archetype is broadly associated with poor quality writing."
Recent books which I have found less than satisfying because of the presence of such characters include:
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagahira in which the protagonist Jude is so clever that when he is employed as a private tutor it is to teach "Latin, math, German, and piano" (2.1). He is very handsome, cooks like a cordon bleu chef, is a brilliant gardener, and has a great singing voice. He becomes a hugely successful lawyer. He works incredibly long hours, often six days a week, sometimes staying at the office until sunrise. Nevertheless, he never seems to collapse for lack of sleep. He also fits in an active social life, attending plays, films, art gallery openings, and dinner parties galore. Furthermore, all of his friends are incredibly successful. Of the four penniless college buddies we encounter at the start of the book one becomes a major visual artist, one a respected architect and one a major film star (who nevertheless maintains artistic credibility). His extended friendship group is also full of high achievers. Where do they find the time for it all? I can only assume that the secret of their success is that they don’t have children, never watch TV and rarely read a book.
- The Judgement of Paris by Gore Vidal in which the hero, Philip, is rich, intelligent, cultured, and so good-looking that he is incessantly wooed by both men and women.
- The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page in which the protagonist Janice may be 'just' a cleaner, as her husband keeps reminding her, but she is an extraordinary cleaner and an extraordinary woman whose services are in high demand around Cambridge, UK. She cleans for an opera singer and an ex-spy, amongst others. Her neighbour used to play cricket for India, the shoe-shop assistant used to play squash for England. But then, Janice's own father was a university professor and the bus driver's dad ran a bookshop. It's quite a place, Cambridge!
- Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson in which Byron is "the African American social media darling of the ocean sciences" (he's also a "brainy athlete"), one of his mother's friends becomes a world-record holder for endurance swimming, and his half-sister is another social media and TV star, this time for cooking, who wipes the floor on live TV with a "coffee guru".
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles in which the main character has a superb palate, is a fantastic marksman, charms everyone (except for the weaselly waiter who becomes the hotel manager), is such a sensational lover that a world-famous actress sleeps with him every time she comes to Moscow over a period of at least twenty years, is always perfectly groomed and dressed and is a perfect raconteur, full of amusing stories with wisdom at their heart. But then almost everyone else in this book is perfect, including the child he adopts who is naturally brilliantly talented at the piano.
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus in which the lead character, Elizabeth and her daughter Mad, are hugely talented to the point of genius (as is their dog).
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens in which the protagonist is a female version of Tarzan who learns to read in a few weeks and becomes a famous author.
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