Have you met a fictional character so dear, that they had your heart, they moved you to tears and from the beginning you had a bias towards them; you rooted for them and you cried for them?
I have fallen in love with fictional characters more times than I care to remember. I might have befriended more book characters than people in real life and who is to say they are not real? They’ve taught me empathy, a fresher perspective on not to be too quick to judge, on not feeling guilty for putting myself as a priority and with them I’ve cried into the night and moved forward as the first ray of sunlight saturated my room.
At the beginning, I sat down to write this little piece of words strung together, for all the places you could visit in the pages of books, through ink on paper; but as I kept gazing at my shelves, I’ve realized that books do more than take us places. They help us meet diverse people. It is this diversity that helps the readers expand their minds to wider opportunities and greater experiences and if that is not the sole purpose of traveling then I do not know what is. It is the people of a place that are it’s essence so bound in the pages of books, it is it’s characters that have managed to draw thousands of readers to them.
Here’s a list of five books with characters so darling that you would want to befriend them and much later after you’ve finished you would still be surrounded by their fragrance.
1. ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE BY GAIL HONEYMAN
It was the summer of this year that I had the opportunity to read Eleanor’s story. It is a book about loneliness and how loneliness is eventually a factor contributing towards poor mental health.
This book’s got everything. It talks about platonic relationships between men and women, it’s about a character so weird that you would either instantly warm up to her or it would take a few pages until you begin to like her. Eleanor is honest, has no idea how to operate in social settings and it is wonderful to see how she grows throughout the book. Dive into the story for when you need to grow a little more empathy towards the world and yourself.
2. A MAN CALLED OVE BY FREDRIK BACKMAN
Oh dear, where do I start with Ove? Ove is not what he seems like, maybe, that is why I like him. He’s a curmudgeon and this book makes you fall in love with grumpy people. It’s one of those rare books that makes you want to dig deeper beneath the surface and not to be too quick to ‘judge a book by it’s cover.’ Read Ove for all sorts of feels; to cry, laugh and grow your heart ‘three sizes bigger’.
3. IT ENDS WITH US BY COLEEN HOOVER
This book’s different from the type of books Hoover normally writes. The plot deals with domestic violence, needless to say, it breaks your heart. But at the core of it is a love story. A love story so pure and strong that it gives you knots in your tummy and throughout the book you are rooting for the heroine. The end is empowering. I could go on for hours on how this book’s empowered me to put myself first, to not make the same mistakes that generations before us have kept making and to break free off a toxic cycle. In my opinion; everyone needs to read this book.
4. THIS HOUSE OF CLAY AND WATER BY FAIQA MANSAB
Faiqa Mansab has easily become my favourite writer in the past year. With her debut, she introduces us to modern day Pakistan and gives the third gender their own voice. It is an unconventional love story, sprinkled with darkness, search for liberation and sentences so beautiful that they make me want to curl inside them and live between the pages forever.
5. AFTER YOU BY JOJO MOYES
So much has been said about the Me Before You series. This story is pretty much properly exploited but that is the thing, it deserves the hype! After You is the second book after Me Before You. It is a story about letting go, moving on and learning to live with and love all your broken pieces. If you want a book to cuddle to on a cold winter’s night, then pick it up. Also, it has some delicious English phrases that are funny on the palate and super addictive to repeat infront of the mirror.
What characters, T.V. or book have made you cry?
