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jodiesbookishposts's review against another edition
5.0
A study of characters I already love, and of characters I can’t wait to get to know.
nikkivrc's review against another edition
4.0
This book explores 4 types of literary characters (heroes, lovers, snobs and villains) by discussing 7 examples per type. Faulks limited himself to British novels from the 18th century till now because otherwise the selection would have been even more impossible to make.
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. When he analyzed a book I had already read, his thoughts helped deepen my understanding of the novel and offered new insights. For example, his view of the love between Elizabeth and Darcy is completely different from mine. I didn't particularly enjoy 'Pride and Prejudice', but I did think it was a beautiful, happy-ending love story. Faulks views their romance in a far more pessimistic, or, if I'm honest, realistic way, by saying Darcy's depression and his many flaws will inevitably drive them apart. When a book I hadn't read was talked about, it gave me a good idea of what it's about and whether or not it was something I'd enjoy. On a more universal level though, he discusses some very interesting ideas on literary characters in general and their evolution in the novel throughout the centuries.
The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because of the book selection. Some books included here, like 'The Golden Notebook', 'The Line of Beauty', 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brody', 'James Bond', 'Brick Lane' and the Raj Quartet didn't appeal to me in the slightest. This made reading about them just a little tedious. As you can probably tell from this list, I prefer older novels to modern ones. I understand the need to include newer novels, otherwise you can't properly show the evolution of these types of characters, but just strictly personally speaking, I would have preferred to keep the amount of modern books to an absolute minimum. The only category I liked 100% is the 'heroes' one, I have nothing bad to say about the book selection there.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone with a serious love of literature and a interest to learn more about the history of the novel in a fun way. Even if you've watched the tv show, like I did, reading the book version gives you far more information.
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. When he analyzed a book I had already read, his thoughts helped deepen my understanding of the novel and offered new insights. For example, his view of the love between Elizabeth and Darcy is completely different from mine. I didn't particularly enjoy 'Pride and Prejudice', but I did think it was a beautiful, happy-ending love story. Faulks views their romance in a far more pessimistic, or, if I'm honest, realistic way, by saying Darcy's depression and his many flaws will inevitably drive them apart. When a book I hadn't read was talked about, it gave me a good idea of what it's about and whether or not it was something I'd enjoy. On a more universal level though, he discusses some very interesting ideas on literary characters in general and their evolution in the novel throughout the centuries.
The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because of the book selection. Some books included here, like 'The Golden Notebook', 'The Line of Beauty', 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brody', 'James Bond', 'Brick Lane' and the Raj Quartet didn't appeal to me in the slightest. This made reading about them just a little tedious. As you can probably tell from this list, I prefer older novels to modern ones. I understand the need to include newer novels, otherwise you can't properly show the evolution of these types of characters, but just strictly personally speaking, I would have preferred to keep the amount of modern books to an absolute minimum. The only category I liked 100% is the 'heroes' one, I have nothing bad to say about the book selection there.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone with a serious love of literature and a interest to learn more about the history of the novel in a fun way. Even if you've watched the tv show, like I did, reading the book version gives you far more information.
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