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I just love it when a book or movie is so moving, so inspiring, so vivid that it seems real. But have you ever finished a book feeling like you really know a character—and wishing he or she was real?
I have.
For me, I’ve read Francine Rivers’ “Mark of the Lion” series several times. The key character, Hadassah, is a Jewish believer in Christ whose family dies and who is forced into slavery after the fall of Jerusalem (not that long after Jesus walked the earth). She goes through a number of trials, but is quiet, gentle, and faithful through them all.
As I read these books, I feel like Hadassah is talking to me. As if I’m walking beside her and watching her suffer and that she really, truly is encouraging me…telling me to have faith, because God is real and He sees our pain. And He saves us from it.
Am I a psycho? No (well, I don’t think so anyway…). J Rivers has merely created a character who sticks with me because of her amazing resiliency and faithfulness.
And if she were real, she’s someone I’d love to be friends with.
Your Turn: What about you? What character from a book or movie would you love to be good friends with (you know, if that character actually existed, of course!)?
Since I write Victorian-set historicals, I'd like to have a nice chat with Laura Ingalls Wilder or Louisa May Alcott. They could tell me about life in the 1800s, and we could talk writing. A win-win.
Oh, yes, I love their books! Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott is one of my favorites. Such good characters. I think I'm closest to Meg in many ways. 😛
I would love to be friends with Rafe Noble from Susan May Warren's Noble Legacy series. 🙂 Love that guy. hehehe…In all seriousness, though, that series is one I return to time and again because I love the storytelling and the characters and the storyworld. I feel like I can just settle in there with people I know.
Ooo, haven't read that series! And I love this: "I feel like I can just settle in there with people I know." That's one of the main things I look for in a book.
I think I became friends with all of the ladies from The Help (or the main ones that weren't snotty that is).
~ Wendy
Didn't read the book, but saw the movie. Loved it! (And yes, I couldn't see you being friends with the likes of Hildie.)
This is a unique twist—rather than asking which character we want to be, you ask about which character we'd want to be friends with. I like it!
Since I've recently read some of the old, classic literature, I'd say I'd want to be friends with Lizzie Bennett from Pride & Prejudice and Helen (aka: Mrs. Graham) from Anne Bronte's novel The Tenant at Wildfell Hall. They are both strong women with the courage and conviction to defy what cultural norms expect from them. I could learn a lot from them.
Barb, you and I have a lot in common! I debated whether to put Hadassah or Lizzie Bennett. I LOVE P&P. One of my favorite books and movies. Like you said, she's strong and oh-so witty. I love that.
One of my first trips into Christian fiction was as a teenager–I read the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. I still think Christy is my best friend and I know all her friends from those books, lol.
I haven't read that series, Sarah, but it sounds good. I love reading series because you get to experience even more of beloved characters' lives!
Love this question. Catching it at the end of the day, and the end of the week. I've spent a lot of time getting to know the characters in my second novel.
OK, back to your question: I'd like to hang with Jackie Pert Harrison, from Siri Mitchell's The Cubicle Next Door.
Jackie knows what she believes and , quirky or not, she lives it out. I admire her for that. And even though it took her awhile, she finally risked falling in love with Joe, the guy in the cubicle next door.And, oh yeah, Jackie wears hi-tops. Lots of 'em. Including ones with flames.
I've never read Siri Mitchell but this book sounds so fun! And quirky + hi-tops = awesome! Thanks for stopping by at the end of what I know was a long week for you, Beth. 🙂
P. J. Sugar!!
Sorry. Didn't quite finish. I love P. J. Sugar in Susan May Warren's Trouble and Double Trouble series.
Hi Pat! Thanks for visiting. I haven't read that series, but the name alone intrigues me. 🙂