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Post by tory on Dec 2, 2020 16:38:31 GMT
Justine - of course. I remember you saying that the Alexandria Quartet is one of your favourite books. I've yet to finish it for my sins.
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Post by oleandermedian on Dec 2, 2020 16:41:44 GMT
I remember loving Wind in the Willows as a kid, in particular I was drawn to Mr Toad. I loved his antics and penchant for causing mayhem and mischief wherever he went, particularly when he got behind the wheel of a car! Characters like that stay with you and help form you in some ways. So who are your favourites and why? They don't have to come from children's literature.
I've had this urge lately to re-visit The Wind in the Willows - I'm sure it's part of some trend, lockdown-related, I suspect. I loved it as a kid and am pretty certain I'd love it still. One way to find out...
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Post by oleandermedian on Dec 2, 2020 16:42:40 GMT
Justine - of course. I remember you saying that the Alexandria Quartet is one of your favourite books. I've yet to finish it for my sins. Finish it right now or I'll ostracize the hell out of you Toby!
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Post by sloopjohnc on Dec 2, 2020 21:17:43 GMT
Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment.
Bartleby in Bartleby the Scribner - Melville.
Gulley Jimson from Herself Surprised/To Be a Pilgrim/The Horse's Mouth.
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Post by fonz on Dec 2, 2020 22:12:37 GMT
Justine - of course. I remember you saying that the Alexandria Quartet is one of your favourite books. I've yet to finish it for my sins. Finish it right now or I'll ostracize the hell out of you Toby! Before I’d read these posts on this thread, I had settled on Scobie, from ‘Justine’. Very colourful, though a minor character. The Alexandria Quartet and American Psycho are my fave ‘lit’ novels. So, obvs, the protagonist of AP is on my list too.
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Post by cousinlou on Dec 3, 2020 8:13:42 GMT
Calvin & Hobbs in equal measure. But even more so, their creator Bill Watterson.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2020 13:44:36 GMT
Reginald Jeeves, Sue Bridehead, William of Baskerville, Alyosha Karamazov, the guy in Watchmen who sits reading the Black Freighter comic the whole way through.
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Post by hippopotamus on Dec 3, 2020 14:26:22 GMT
One of my favourite characters is Psmith from the series of books of the same name by P G Wodehouse.
I never liked Bertie Wooster, and Jeeves is fine but I always thought Psmith was a work of genius. He's the only character Wodehouse based on a real person. All from an anecdote about a young boy at Eton who wore a monocle and when asked how he was replied
"Sir, I grow thinnah and thinnah".
The resulting character is a overly verbose communist... With a monocle, who takes such a queer e joyment out of life and meddling with people. In most of the books he has his best friend Mike, who's a quiet, solid person. It's such a perfect pairing and I find the relationship so endearing. He's also just so relaxed about life, while thriving in chaos. I'm hard pressed to find a character I like more.
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Post by oleandermedian on Dec 4, 2020 9:18:15 GMT
Finish it right now or I'll ostracize the hell out of you Toby! Before I’d read these posts on this thread, I had settled on Scobie, from ‘Justine’. Very colourful, though a minor character. The Alexandria Quartet and American Psycho are my fave ‘lit’ novels. So, obvs, the protagonist of AP is on my list too. Wasn’t Scobie made a neighbourhood saint after he died? Anyway yes, the Alexandria Quartet. I’m glad you love it too.
I read American Psycho and enjoyed it but didn’t take to the protagonist at all. He deserved everything he got, whatever it was.
My favourite literary villain by far is Gorse from The West Pier by Patrick Hamilton – he’s as nasty a piece of work as you could ever wish to avoid (and a scathing indictment of the British public school system too, if you care to see it that way).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2020 10:06:22 GMT
Mine's probably Steerpike. I've never lost my love for the Gormenghast trilogy - the school library was good for something.
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Post by DarknessFish on Dec 4, 2020 10:19:22 GMT
Mine's probably Steerpike. I've never lost my love for the Gormenghast trilogy - the school library was good for something. Might've mentioned this before on here, but have you ever seen Mervyn Peake's paintings. They have this in Manchester Art Gallery, it's really quite striking, I don't think the jpeg does it justice:
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Post by tory on Dec 4, 2020 10:20:33 GMT
I loved the Gormenghast trilogy too. Just a shame that the BBC adaptation was so poor. Some books should be left alone.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2020 10:29:52 GMT
Yossarian from Catch 22. There's a few in that book I really like, such as Yossarian's mate Dunbar, who is a more rebellious version of Yossarian in many ways. But I liked Yossarian's ability to detach himself from the madness all around him.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Dec 4, 2020 12:42:12 GMT
Yossarian from Catch 22. There's a few in that book I really like, such as Yossarian's mate Dunbar, who is a more rebellious version of Yossarian in many ways. But I liked Yossarian's ability to detach himself from the madness all around him. He's mine. I just connect with somebody who's trying to survive the madness of the world any way he bloody well can.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2020 14:10:24 GMT
I loved the Gormenghast trilogy too. Just a shame that the BBC adaptation was so poor. Some books should be left alone. It was unspeakable. Steerpike, handsome? The castle, bright and airy? Fuchsia, a shallow coquette? And on and on..
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