TOP TEN TUESDAY | FAVOURITE CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS

This prompt is not the easiest, but it’s also a great one. Because the relationships between characters in our books both tell us a tremendous amount about that character’s sense of self, place in the world and generosity of spirit, and help us feel emotionally connected to the story as it unfolds. They also help us to figure out what we value in our own relationships – what we look for in friends, what we need in a partner (if indeed we need one at all), and how we want to show our love for our families. There are the horrible ones that help define boundaries and acceptable behaviour, and there are the great ones that we can hold in our minds to reach for in trying times or times of moral uncertainty. So it’s really interesting to look back over some of the relationships that have stuck with me from the books I’ve read over the years, and why. Here are some of the top picks.

1. 1. Anne Shirley and Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables. Also Anne and Diana. Also Anne and Gilbert Blythe.
   2. Matilda Wormwood and Miss Honey from Matilda.
   3. Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars.
   4. Mary and Dicken from The Secret Garden.
   5. Agatha Raisin and Mrs. Bloxby from the Agatha Raisin series.
   6. The Thursday Murder Club – the whole group.
   7. Aristotle and Dante from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
   8. The House in the Cerulean Sea – all the relationships pretty much were lovely.
   9. Bob and Rosco from The Drop.
   10. Will and Diane Cardiel from If I Fall, If I Die.
   11. Atticus Finch and pretty much everyone around him from To Kill a Mockingbird.
   12. Frank Dolan and Helene Hanff from 84, Charing Cross Road.
   13. The Queen and her books from The Uncommon Reader.
   14. Gerald Durrell and his animals, bugs and other creatures from The Corfu Trilogy.

Okay, so the last two don’t count, but they did really stick with me and bore mentioning if only because they both showed a type of singular focus and deep interest in a pursuit that I both recognize and aspire to. For Durrell animals were an obsession to him, one that began in childhood and that he turned into a lifelong calling. That type of lasting interest in a topic isn’t a given – some of us have a hard time identifying what really means that much to us – but it’s something that seems kind of magical to me. In the case of the Queen, she came to her love of reading later in life, and largely by accident, but it became the most important thing in her life. It allowed her to expand her singular experience of the world and to re-assess her place in it. So, I included them even though I probably shouldn’t have.

What about you guys? Who has stuck with you as either a fantastic or absolutely horrid relationship from books? Which ones have taught you the most – either as an example or a cautionary tale? Were any of my choices on your list?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.