The thing is, if I don't click with the characters, I don't generally like the book. And if I don't like the book, I tend to kind of shove it out of my mind. So I've had to do some real digging for this one, back through my reviews here and my memory. But here they are: ten characters that don't do it for me:
Alan Quatermain in King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (Movie Bilbo, on the other hand, I quite love.)
Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Emma Woodhouse in Emma by Jane Austen
Fanny Price in Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Jane Whitefield from Vanishing Act by by Thomas Perry
Meggie in Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (The movie is a different story altogether.)
Patrick Bowers from The Pawn by Steven James
Tertius Lydgate in Middlemarch by George Eliot
There are lots of different reasons why I didn't click with these people. This isn't about dislike, this is about characters I think I should like, but I just don't dig. Well, except for Meggie -- I tried liking her, but ended up disliking her by the end of the book. (Not so in the movie.)
Definitely agree on Bilbo in The Hobbit...it's not that I didn't like him and root for him in the book, but his wit and charm just shine out more in Martin's portrayal. :)
ReplyDeleteMarian, exatcly! In the book, I just don't find him very interesting. He's likable, but mostly just kind of there. But in the movies, I'm so invested in him. Kudos to Martin Freeman and Peter Jackson and the other writers.
DeletePS. Marian, are you thinking of joining my Tolkien blog party later this month? I hope so! Details here.
DeleteNot the Bagginses!! lol it's allowed :) My TTT
ReplyDeleteCarrie, I know, I feel bad about not finding them interesting, but... it's true. Thanks for stopping by :-)
DeletePS Carrie, I'd like to invite you to my Tolkien blog party that kicks off Sept. 22. More info here.
DeleteNoooooo! Not Bilbo! Never Bilbo!!! My TTT
ReplyDeleteProxy, I'm sorry... I just have trouble connecting with The Hobbit altogether. I disliked it so much when I read it as a teen that I refused to have anything to do with Tolkien for years, until some friends dragged me to the theater to see FOTR. Then I became a devoted fan :-) But I still don't care much for The Hobbit. The book. The movie, on the other hand... well, I'm planning to go see the extended edition rerelease of TBTOFA at the theater next month.
DeleteBTW, I'm hosting my 3rd annual Tolkien blog party later this month, starting on Bilbo and Frodo's birthday -- go to this page if you want to learn more.
Interesting list! I'm not sure how I feel about Emma and Fanny. I'd say of all of Austen's heroines they're probably the ones I relate to the most (though I wish I could be as sweet and patient as Fanny) though Marianne I also can't really relate to.
ReplyDeleteLois, it's not that I dislike Emma and Fanny... I just don't "get" them, you know? Marianne almost made this list too, but I didn't want it to be all Austen, lol.
DeleteDon't.... DON'T reach for the broom(!) ;), but I have to admit the Austen heroine I least click with is Catherine Morland. *ducks hurriedly*
ReplyDelete.....
*peeking back up over the counter top* but I DO like Henry Tilney quite well in compensation. :) And yes, I actually agree about both Bilbo and (in part) Frodo. I like Bilbo well enough in The Hobbit, but it's super hard for me to even appreciate him in LOTR. :P (And I'm super sorry about it, I've tried and tried!) I think there are various reasons, but rather too numerous to list here. And Frodo is "in part" because I don't think you necessarily have to identify with him (another long story), but I do thoroughly like and respect him. :)
Happily for you, Heidi, my arm is really tired from painting our deck, so I'll just leave the broom where it is ;-)
DeleteActually, I click with Catherine really well, but not as well as with Anne Elliot or Elizabeth Bennet. Catherine reminds me of my younger self. Did you ever read a book called Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary? That was kind of me as a child/teen. Once I settled my imaginative energies into writing, I got slightly less fantastical in real life, I think.
But I'm glad you like Henry Tilney :-) He is a dear.
I too have Tried and Tried and Tried to love Bilbo and Frodo, but... I don't. And I don't need to love them or identify with them to love LOTR. I have Sam and Boromir, and Bard in The Hobbit. And Gandalf and Eomer and Faramir...
I do appreciate Frodo more now, thanks to the read-along I hosted and so many people taking the time to explain to me why they find him awesome. But I don't click with him.
For me, number one would be Scarlet in "Gone With The Wind"... the movie version, anyway. She annoys me so much I've never been able to bring myself to read the book.
ReplyDeleteLynn, I actively dislike Scarlett O'Hara, but I still enjoy watching GWTW every few years. It's such a feast for the eyes. I read the book once, and it was magnificent, but I didn't love it.
DeleteAt least Bilbo has personality in the movie, although I always loved him in the book too. Still, I read it when I was quite, quite young so that's probably why I connected to him so strongly.
ReplyDeleteEmma Woodhouse and I have never been friends, and because of her I can't bring myself to read the book. So sad.
As for Meggie, well, she grows. A lot. She is not the same girl in the final book that she is in Inkheart. Ooh, I'm so excited to be reading Inkdeath for September!
Great list of characters. I am curious about Steven James' books, but haven't gotten around to them yet. Maybe someday.
Carissa, I'm thinking younger is better for that first reading of The Hobbit -- I was like 15 or 16, and probably just too old. I'm thinking when my son turns 8 next month (!!!!), I'll give him a copy for his birthday. He loves stuff about dragons and knights and so on right now, so I think he's ripe for it.
DeleteI like enough other characters in Emma to have read it twice, and to really enjoy the '96 Gwyneth Paltrow version.
I'm glad to hear Meggie grows!
My mom really likes Steven James' books a lot. I wouldn't be adverse to reading another of them to see if it captured me a bit more.
I really, really love Fanny, because she reminds me so much of myself . . . but I'm with you on Edmund. I know he has a good heart, but he's got poor judgment and seems kinda weak (IMHO anyways).
ReplyDeleteJessica, I think Fanny is pretty admirable, I just never really dig her. But Edmund... Edmund is wishy-washy.
DeleteOh, sure, I understand . . . I mean, you can't like EVERY single character. I don't care too too much for Mr. Darcy, either, even though I know he's a good guy. It's not that I dislike him--he just doesn't appeal to me.
DeleteBut yeah. Wishy-washy. That's Edmund. He has so little . . . well, BACKBONE. It makes me MAD.
I agree with you when it comes to Bilbo - not that I couldn't connect with him in the book but that I think Freeman's portrayal really made the character come through.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my TTT.
Lauren, Martin Freeman is a great actor, and that's all there is to it! Thanks for stopping by :-)
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