Today, I re-read the David Levithan book The Lover's Dictionary. I cannot express how much I love this book or how closely I relate to the characters or any such matter.
It led me to an interesting thought. How much does the reader actually have to know about the characters in order to love them? The main character in the book is so easy to relate to and I don't even know their name or what they do. I think they are male. And their lover? Are they male? Are they pregnant? Still, the pain the main character feels from his romantic partner is so real and, yet, the book is a puzzle of out-of-order experiences that don't even have a main plot. And yet, at the end of the book, I'm okay with not knowing things. I'm usually much more curious to know more and in this case I'm okay with letting it be.
But it did get me thinking about characters I want to know more about. Here are my top five:
5) Roger Chillingworth - The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne. I get that Roger is extremely unlikeable, but we are still left with such little knowledge about him. Why did Hester leave him to go to America? Why did she cheat on him? Had he been a good husband before? Why had she married him in the first place?
4) Nurse - Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare. We know that she was not only the maid of Juliet, but of Lady Capulet as well. Still, who is she? Where did she come from? Was she born into being a servant? Is she just in the play to provide comic relief and be one of the only supporters of Juliet and Romeo? What exactly is her purpose.
3) Eleanor Savage - This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald. She is the most intriguing woman in this novel, even more so than Rosalind. I wanted to know more about her. Why she was such a fleeting interest of Amory's, but still enough of one to be a good chunk of the book... Why she was such a guarded person... Why he loved Rosalind more than her... There are a lot of unanswered questions about the women in this book, but I always fid myself wondering about Eleanor.
2) Lane Coutell - Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger. I get it. I get that he bores Franny. I get that she wants more intrigue and a more exciting, less cookie-cutter life, but why? What exactly is wrong with Lane? Readers don't get a chance to find out why he is boring and why she doesn't like him and I always thought the Glass children were just mean to him. The picture I got of Lane was that of a perfectly acceptable man. If Franny didn't want to be with him, she could have just been nice about it.
1) Clarissa McClellan - Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury. If you don't want to know more about Clarissa, I don't get you. I think that's all I can say about this one.
Are there any characters that you found yourself wanting to know more about?
Also, The Lover's Dictionary fulfilled my New York requirement - though I still fully intend to read Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch ASAP. Today, I just needed the comfort of a quick favorite.
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