Each email has a link to unsubscribe. wow, I clearly dont agree with this list. He seems to encapsulate every desirable male quality - sophistication, wit, courage and tenderness, too. Haroun has everything: a silenced storytelling father to save, encounters with water genies and talking hoopoes, and a heroic role in one of the most luminous and resonant tales yet written in praise of freedom of the imagination. Ebeneezer, the grizzled old Guernsey narrator of GB Edwards's The Book of Ebenezer le Page, who talks us through 70 years of comings and goings on the tiny island he never leaves in salty, stream-of-consciousness patois. Suitable to any genre or period. India & South Asia Political & Social Issues. Chosen by Michael Marshall (The Lonely Dead). I see a lot of people agreed with me : ). Funny, endearing and true. Elaine Dundy's The Dud Avocado and Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's were both published in 1958, and perhaps there was something about post-war, pre-Sixties bohemia that produced two of the most appealing heroines ever. Chosen by Nicholas Pearson, (publishing director of Fourth Estate). Practicality saves her from wasteful sentimentality, and imagination saves her from cynicism. In literature, there are many characters that have been created and have been well-loved by readers. The most famous book is the Holy Bible. His subversive attitudes lead to him being 'disappeared' by the nebulous authorities, Chosen by Michael Rosen (children's author), The portrayal of Catch-22's Milo Minderbender is a wonderful evocation of the crooks and spivs who surround any army of occupation. Fiction books are a very subjective genre. Eager and ambitious for the poisonous Pip, Joe is humble and self-effacing. Awaiting him in the dock is the desperate Katya, a prostitute, whom he is about to send to her death by forced labour. Chosen by Peter Florence (the director of the Hay Festival). When I first read it (aged 17), I felt guilty for having enjoyed it so much - was my mum watching me read it? Chosen by Francine Stock (the presenter of Front Row). And, bless her, she is truly ashamed when she does, because she is actually very nice. Hans Castorp, the central character in The Magic Mountain, is introduced as "a perfectly ordinary, if engaging young man". The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900, The 100 Best English-Language Novels of the 20th Century. Every year or so I re-read Philip Roth's Sabbath's Theater to spend time with the appalling Mickey Sabbath, the repulsive puppeteer who turned down the opportunity to join Jim Henson and make Muppets. 2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. A seemingly impossible task, to be sure, but they managed to do it, and here it is, for your viewing pleasure, dear readers! He has the kindest of hearts but he's also aimless, dumb and pleasure-seeking. I love him because he embodies so many human foibles, such as laziness, fear, and attachment to routine. Heres how thefavoritecharacters stack up against the results of our Whats yourfavorite novel? poll (diagram courtesy of fellow Rioter Minh Le). JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings boasts the best white wizard in fiction - not morally ambiguous or neutral like Merlin, but not infallible either. Where was Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennett? I was inconsolable when she vanishes into the flames.

Sign up here. I admire his cheerful arrogance and independence. The feisty, funny and above all unabashedly passionate Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery. Infoplease is a reference and learning site, combining the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary,an atlas and several almanacs loaded with facts. Anne Elliot is the heroine of Jane Austen's last completed novel, Persuasion. Harry Flashman, that fictional reprobate - wenching and dodging his way through the major military engagements of the 19th century - is funnier, more honest and certainly less harmful than many of the real brave fools whose paths he double-crosses. Able to hold centre stage in plot, or work subtly in deep background. Chosen by Philippa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl).

Polymorphic, unpredictable, unaccountable; omnipotent yet negligent, kind yet vicious. Chosen by Sally Beauman (The Landscape of Love). I love his optimism, waiting for the postal order that never comes; and his sticking a fat finger up at Mr Quelch. Highsmith manages to make him so sympathetic, even while she's coolly detailing the eerie processes that lead him into murder. What is wonderful is the way she describes her life, her affair and her love for her husband in terms of all five senses. My favourite? Where a lesser writer might have cracked, he delivered an incorruptible girl of five, triumphant in her "undestroyed freshness". It's the most tragic tale of a man who did a great wrong (he sells his wife and daughter) and pays for it later.

Is that not a perfectly sensible response to urban family life? While the most read book is still Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Lord of the Rings is a close second. The literary hero who has remained most dear to me is Geoffrey Willans's schoolboy, Nigel Molesworth - a fearless critic, a comedian, a subversive, a philosopher who discusses Camus on the football pitch and whose trenchant powers of social commentary are, as any fule kno, enhanced by his appalling spelling. Discuss! Winnie the Pooh is not a better character than they are. (LogOut/ It has to be the Swede in Philip Roth's American Pastoral. Chosen by Maggie Gee (novelist and chairwoman of the Royal Society of Literature). By clicking Create my account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to ourTerms of use,Cookie policyandPrivacy notice. His retreat cut off, heplunged into the River Tiber. I remember reading Martin Amis's Money when I was about 18 and loving the thrillingly savage character of John Self. Nicer than I am by a long way. Need a reference? Chosen by Linda Grant (When I Lived in Modern Times). But what made me want to listen to the music was the feisty Elephant's Child, who, with his newly acquired trunk, has such sweet revenge on all his chastising relatives. Chosen by John Sutherland (critic and author). ), When I'm Nostalgic for the '80s and '90s, I Read These Books, A Map to the Best Treasure Hunting Mysteries, Fantastical Food Fiction: 11 Books with Magical Baking and Mischief-Making, The Best Romance Books You've Never Heard Of. He chimed with all my fantasies of heroism and toughness and loneliness. He's reduced to pleading wretchedness by a taxi driver who mugs him. Sherlock Holmes is a well-loved character because of his wit, intellect, and charm. Vital, passionate, spirited - from the moment Bathsheba appears in Far From the Madding Crowd, she is beguiling. Check ourencyclopedia for a gloss on thousands of topics from biographies to the table of elements. The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling taught me to love the music in words. A true gentleman. There's no funnier monster in modern literature than poor, doomed Humbert Humbert in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Chosen by Amanda Craig (Love in Idleness). "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." The longest novel in the world is "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy, which has 1,444,000 words. We've got you covered with our map collection. We watched him grow so much in The Hobbit!!! HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. It has been 32 years since I first read the epic battle between General Woundwort and the awesome Bigwig, and I don't think I've ever again been so thrilled by a piece of literature, I read Casino Royale, when I was 12. Going to hell in his company would always be worth the ride. A lot of this boils down to personal preference, of course; if you, as a reader, dislike violence in general, you probably wont like bonding with Patrick Bateman inAmerican Psycho, just like if youre not a fan of romances, you should probably steer clear of Nicholas Sparks and Nora Roberts characters. Psmith demonstrates a degree of youthful flexibility that PG Wodehouse's Jeeves/ Wooster and Blandings characters couldn't quite muster, creating the most demanding and dangerous situations, simply for the pleasure he derives from extricating himself (and his stolid friend Mike) from them. He is distinctive for using the abnormality of war to make money, Chosen by Robert Crais (The Forgotten Man), The great white whale himself. I don't think I'd get much sleep if I spent the night at his house. Will he learn from his doctor, later that day, that he has cancer? Chosen by Catherine Lockerbie, (director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival). Chosen by Mary Hoffman (Stravaganza City of Flowers). Chosen by John Burnside (The Good Neighbour). You can denounce her faults - she's selfish and capricious - but it's hard not to admire her determined independence. Keep an eye on your inbox. What do you think, dear readers? It's been a lifelong love affair between me and Gone With the Wind's Rhett Butler. As he swam to safety, even the Tuscans cheered. Mrs Chippy, from Mrs Chippy's Last Expedition by Caroline Alexander, is a character based on the real-life cat that went on the Endurance with Shackleton. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In The Trial, Kafka's master-trap is to make us accept that Josef K's point of view is objective, narrative fact. A novel is a book that is usually written in prose with the author's creative imagination. Balzac's heroic villain with many names is one of the greatest - wicked, inventive, brave, grimly witty, passionate and full of new aspects as he reappears in various novels. Brush up on your geography and finally learn what countries are in Eastern Europe with our maps. Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint is tragic, hilarious and plain embarrassing. Godwin Peak in George Gissing's Born in Exile is a humbly-born scientist and ferocious free-thinker. Chosen by Di Speirs (executive producer of readings at the BBC). Philip Marlowe, the private detective created by Raymond Chandler, is the most inspirational and influential character I have ever met.