Great writing about a despicable character - can Sabbath's Theater be a great novel?

And the great writing in Philip Roth's Sabbath's Theater (1995) continues, w/ a powerful section recounting the protagonist's (Mickey Sabbath's) visit to his wife, Roseanne, in an alcohol-detox hospital ($1,000/day in about 1990, but covered by insurance - those were the days!) apparently somewhere near Ithaca, N.Y. As Roth always does, he gets the vibe of a community and setting down perfectly, along w/ a few satiric moments and a skeptic's reserve about the language of recovery. This is all to the good, but, as w/ every other section of this novel - and some (not I) would say as throughout Roth's works - the narrative is hindered by the extreme unlikability of the protagonist. Using the rehab-center episode as an example, its all fine and harrowing and engaging when we're reading about his wife's struggles, her ambivalence, the tough love and strict regulations of the center, the range of people in the center each w/ his or her own demons - but then Sabbath entices the prettiest of the young women there to walk on the grounds w/ him, allegedly in search of Roseanne, and he draws her out about her trauma, and of course hits on her (she's about 1/3 his age), which was repulsive even in the 90s and more so today, and gets her to agree to have sex w/ him in return for a few bottles of vodka. The plan down't pan out for Sabbath, but what are we to make of such a character? I'm not one who says all characters in great novels have to be "likable," but must they be despicable? And of course Roth knows what he's doing, that he's creating a demonic protagonist - and he does a great job, to give due credit, in presenting Sabbath's back story, the death of his older brother in WWII and how that destroyed the family, but still, we don't feel sorrow and pity for this guy - we just expect and want him to get what he deserves. (Note: The next section begins w/ his trying to seduce the wife of the old friend who provides him w/ food, clothing, shelter, and medical services when he's in greatest need. What are we to make of that?)

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