TOP 5 Book Boy/Girl Friends - Book Kaleidoscope 2013 Day 1

Book Kaleidoscope 2013 is hosted by Fanda at Fanta Classiclit. In here we will recapture our favourite moments, memories and experiences from fiction read in 2013. And lists! There will be lists. Who doesn't love a list?

The topic for Day 1 is TOP 5 Book Boy/Girl Friends:

From all the books you have read throughout the year, rank five male characters (if you are female) or five female characters (if you are male) you love the most. Tell us the reason, and it would be great if you use images to describe them (if the book has been made into movie, you can share photo(s) of the best actors/actresses to perform them).

Well. I started this by dividing a blank page into two in my notebook and marking down possible candidates... and came up with a bunch of feisty women in literature whereas my "boyfriend" column only consisted of Owen Meany, Alex Woods and Eli Sisters... I guess I have to be a rebel and go with girlfiends even though I'm female - I can't help but to appreciate a good heroine! :)

Dina

Alif the Unseen

 

Dina starts out as the girl next door (literally), but as the time and the plot continues, she really rises to shine next to the other (mainly male) characters. Alif would probably be in a lot more trouble if it wasn't for Dina, who managed to be very level-headed in intense situations. Dina is a Muslim and takes her faith very seriously, and that just gives her that extra layer of depth.

 



Marian Halcombe

The Woman in White

 Link.

 

It took me a little time to find the quote that likely accompanies this illustration of Marian, as spoken by Walter Hartright:

I looked from the table to the window farthest from me, and saw a lady standing at it, with her back turned towards me. The instant my eyes rested on her, I was struck by the rare beauty of her form, and by the unaffected grace of her attitude. Her figure was tall, yet not too tall; comely and well-developed, yet not fat; her head set on her shoulders with an easy, pliant firmness; her waist, perfection in the eyes of a man, for it occupied its natural place, it filled out its natural circle, it was visibly and delightfully undeformed by stays. She had not heard my entrance into the room; and I allowed myself the luxury of admiring her for a few moments, before I moved one of the chairs near me, as the least embarrassing means of attracting her attention. She turned towards me immediately. [...] She approached nearer - and I said to myself (with a sense of surprise which words fail me to express), The lady is ugly!

Nice going there, Walter :p Marian is awesome though, she has brains in their proper place, she is also witty, extremely clever and resourceful - as much as women of the time could be. One can clearly see Marian is way ahead of her time, she's independent and probably doesn't need no man to lift her self-esteem. As I wrote in my initial review of The Woman in White, "she would not go without food or butt naked, that's for sure", and I stick to it.

Thursday Next

 The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book and The Well of Lost Plots

It's not easy to find an image of Thursday from the Internet, let me tell you. In the end I settled with this:

Link.
This is a Czech cover for Lost in a Good Book.
Looks like a comic book, and Thursday is scary-
looking...

Who would like to meet Thursday on an empty alley at night time? Not me! True, she is a bit hot-headed, but then again you are allowed to be if you have resources to get out of the messes your hot-headedness gets you in. Thursday is no fainting maiden; in fact, she is the one who has to save her husband from major trouble (I have become used to it being a bit of the other way around...)

 

Masami Aomame

1Q84

Link.
A nice piece of fan art with Aomame and Tengo;
again, it's difficult to find any images on
these characters.

 

The reason I didn't love 1Q84 was nothing to do with characters, who were expectedly unique, bizarre, quirky and humane altogether - the trademark of Haruki Murakami. After solitary and not so happy childhood of being raised in religious-to-extremes family, 30-something Aomame becomes an assassin... of a sort. I won't say anymore, it's best to discover the details on that from the book itself. Another significant facts: she has weird attraction towards balding, middle-aged men; she casually decides to tackle Proust's In Search of Lost Time (as you do), and she is lonely. Very very lonely. (Surprising, eh?)

 

Lucy Snowe

Villette

Link.

 

I don't think I've ever met a character studied to such depth as Charlotte Bronte's Lucy Snowe. Her life is clearly a miserable one, yet you do not pity her. Most of Lucy's life takes place inside her (which is likely why this novel is near impossible to adapt faithfully), oh, the kind of emotions she has! But only a little of that is visible to a bystander. I recognised myself in Lucy more than once, her sarcastic remarks and inner thoughts made Villette such an enjoyable read.

 

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The next topic: TOP5 Most Memorable Quotes