If you think good characters in stories are hard to come by, then this list might be of use to you.
5: V.M. Straka from The Ship of Theseus by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst
I have an affinity for near mythical fictional characters. In JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst’s experimental novel which features two characters conversing within the margins of the fictitious novel, the legend of V.M. Straka, a mysterious writer whose prose and perspective has the power to dismantle entire governments, is at the center. Not much is known about Straka and that is exactly what makes him so darn intriguing. Though he never appears in the text, his presence is felt in the exchanges between the two main characters as they race with other academics to unveil the man behind the pen name.
I’m not sure there is any other character that can be as captivating without actually appearing in a book, (1) but Straka certainly has enough gravity to capture the imagination and respect of a reader.
4: Francine Chang from The Silent History by Eli Horowitz, Matthew Derby and Kevin Moffet
If you’ve never heard of The Silent History, you don’t have to go beyond your phone. Originally designed as an app that periodically released testimonials of an epidemic of “silent” children is now a book featuring all of these stories between two covers. One of the interviewees in the book is kindergarten teacher Francine Chang. During her first testimonial, Francine displayed a kind of brooding care and understanding for the one “silent child” she had in her class that was exceptionally admirable.
Even while other jaded teachers talk about how much of a burden it is to have a child that does not process or comprehend language in their class, Francine does her best to understand and look out for Colin, the silent child she is responsible for. This eventually leads her to shape her life towards working with these children and advocating for their unique abilities hidden in their very obvious disabilities.
3: Reno from The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
Rachel Kushner’s second novel The Flamethrowers introduces readers to Reno, which is not her actual name, but the nickname given to her that she never corrected. I don’t think that my admiration goes to Reno herself but to the cutting ideas on life and love that she delivers as she moves across the United States and Europe:
People who are harder to love pose a challenge, and the challenge makes them easier to love. You’re driven to love them. People who want their love easy don’t really want love.
Kushner manages to put complicated and all too common feelings into words through the eyes of the always talked-over but hyper-observant Reno. While the novel focuses on the balance of those who let life sweep them along and those who do the sweeping, Reno is an oftentimes frustrating character but a well-written one at that.
2: Stanislas Cordova from Night Film by Marisha Pessl
Night Film might be the greatest story I have ever read, and one of the two audiobooks I’ve made it through. (2) Much like V.M. Straka, Cordova doesn’t appear a whole lot during the book but instead remains a mystery as the main character Scott McGrath tries to uncover what really happened when Cordova’s daughter commits suicide and ventures into the dark and magical world that surrounds Cordova.
Cordova himself has a lot going for him as a character. First, he is a cult film director, which is the second coolest profession on the planet. (3) He can also successfully take down the career of anyone who tries to uncover any of his secrets without so much as being seen.
There is definitely something to be said for a character who appears to be larger than life and is never actually seen or heard from directly. Pessl does a great job of playing to the fact that our imaginations are always grander than reality. By only showing an interview with him at the end of the book and having the main character jump through hoops to uncover his secrets only make us imagine him in the way that everyone in the story sees him: as someone we suspect is very dangerous but we can’t help but want to know more.
I love him as a character so much that he may have been the inspiration behind the name of one of my characters in an ongoing Wattpad series.
1: Hugo Lamb from The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (4)
I love a good redemption arc. Hugo Lamb is not a good person. In fact, he’s kind of the worst. Even when he first appeared in Mitchell’s book Black Swan Green, he is in the middle of hustling his cousin in a game of darts as a child before they get interrupted.
He did not get much better in The Bone Clocks where he is back on his hustle game swindling people out of their money and possessions in schemes and card games. Really, there aren’t any real reasons to like him as a human being, which makes him the best character. He spends his time continuously doubling down on how terrible he can be, having a very insightful conversation about power with an even more terrible person than him (page 100) but also balancing it all with a soft spot for the main character, Holly Sykes.
With Hugo Lamb, David Mitchell walks the very fine line between true monster and misguided bad boy with a chance for redemption.
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1: I actually do, Please see #2 on this list.
2: The other being Jalen Rose’s autobiography. Everything else in audio form I simply cannot get behind.
3: Whatever you would classify Indiana Jones’s job as is a clear #1.
4: This may or may not be where my pen name comes from.
