Top Guy
1) Rob Gordon, High Fidelity
This list couldn’t be complete without the king of Top 5 lists. Rob is a miserable, broke record store owner whose girlfriend just left him for a complete douchebag and who’s on a quest to figure out what has gone wrong with his life. Sure, that’s the basic premise of about 10 million books, but Rob gets the nod because he’s smart, funny and has impeccable taste in music.
2) Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee has still only written one book in her career, but she hit perfection on her first swing. Has there ever been another character as heroic and genuinely good as Atticus?
3) Maurice Bendrix, The End of the Affair
If you ever need lessons on how to be a vindictive, vengeful ex-lover, there are few better places to turn to than Maurice. Plus, he gets to write one of the best lines ever: “This is a diary of hate.”
4) Lennie, Of Mice and Men
So sweet. So simple. So doomed.
5) Yossarian, Catch-22
Smart enough not to die, but not smart enough to get himself out of the war, Yossarian is the perfect archetype for anyone stuck in a bad situation (whether it be a bad job, a bad relationship or a bad war) without having a way out. This entry reminds me that I should read Catch-22 again.
Top Lady
1) Humbert Humbert, Lolita
Though Dolores Haze herself is actually quite strong when you read between the lines, I can’t think of any other narrative voice that’s as successful at seducing the reader into sympathizing with and being charmed by such a revolting character.
2) Emma Bovary, Madame Bovary
Probably the most relevant 19th century character to contemporary society: Madame Bovary is the ultimate Desperate Housewife who gets what’s coming to her in the end.
3) Kurtz, Heart of Darkness
I put Kurtz ahead of Hannibal Lecter, Tom Ripley, and Dracula in downright creepiness. He has hardly any dialogue, and the novel’s description of a frail, white-haired old man doesn’t match up with Brando in Apocalypse Now, but “Exterminate the Brutes!” still sends shivers down my spine.
4) Ignatius J. Reilly, A Confederacy of Dunces
Anyone with too much education considers Ignatius to be hilarious; anyone who has ever “filed” anything by throwing it into a wastebasket considers him a genius.
5) Clarissa Dalloway, Mrs. Dalloway
Through the city of London could itself be the primary character of the book, Mrs. Dalloway acts as the bridge between the Victorian era and the Modern. She’s also one of the few major literary characters who seems genuinely nice—after all, she’s the one who said she’d buy the flowers.
1) Rob Gordon, High Fidelity
This list couldn’t be complete without the king of Top 5 lists. Rob is a miserable, broke record store owner whose girlfriend just left him for a complete douchebag and who’s on a quest to figure out what has gone wrong with his life. Sure, that’s the basic premise of about 10 million books, but Rob gets the nod because he’s smart, funny and has impeccable taste in music.
2) Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee has still only written one book in her career, but she hit perfection on her first swing. Has there ever been another character as heroic and genuinely good as Atticus?
3) Maurice Bendrix, The End of the Affair
If you ever need lessons on how to be a vindictive, vengeful ex-lover, there are few better places to turn to than Maurice. Plus, he gets to write one of the best lines ever: “This is a diary of hate.”
4) Lennie, Of Mice and Men
So sweet. So simple. So doomed.
5) Yossarian, Catch-22
Smart enough not to die, but not smart enough to get himself out of the war, Yossarian is the perfect archetype for anyone stuck in a bad situation (whether it be a bad job, a bad relationship or a bad war) without having a way out. This entry reminds me that I should read Catch-22 again.
Top Lady
1) Humbert Humbert, Lolita
Though Dolores Haze herself is actually quite strong when you read between the lines, I can’t think of any other narrative voice that’s as successful at seducing the reader into sympathizing with and being charmed by such a revolting character.
2) Emma Bovary, Madame Bovary
Probably the most relevant 19th century character to contemporary society: Madame Bovary is the ultimate Desperate Housewife who gets what’s coming to her in the end.
3) Kurtz, Heart of Darkness
I put Kurtz ahead of Hannibal Lecter, Tom Ripley, and Dracula in downright creepiness. He has hardly any dialogue, and the novel’s description of a frail, white-haired old man doesn’t match up with Brando in Apocalypse Now, but “Exterminate the Brutes!” still sends shivers down my spine.
4) Ignatius J. Reilly, A Confederacy of Dunces
Anyone with too much education considers Ignatius to be hilarious; anyone who has ever “filed” anything by throwing it into a wastebasket considers him a genius.
5) Clarissa Dalloway, Mrs. Dalloway
Through the city of London could itself be the primary character of the book, Mrs. Dalloway acts as the bridge between the Victorian era and the Modern. She’s also one of the few major literary characters who seems genuinely nice—after all, she’s the one who said she’d buy the flowers.
3 comments:
Nice to see succinct Top 5 Lists out there...
http://www.thesharkbook.com/blog/2008/03/livin-on-prayer-bon-jovi-guitarist-dui.html
Here's our contribution:
5 Worst Bon Jovi cover versions...
You have to hear them do 'Fever' and 'Twist and Shout'. Appalling.
i love ignatius reilly!
what about top 5 short story characters? bartleby the scrivener is a sure pick in my book.
what about top 5 hipsters brigid is totally over? i can think of one...dave eggers.
:)
Thanks for the comments!
And yeah, Eggers, David Foster Wallace, and all that "New Sincerity" crowd can go jump off the Williamsburg Bridge. (826 Valencia is a nice project, though)
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