fiction with eccentrics as protagonist

Greenbottle3

I suppose by definition all protagonists in good books are eccentrics one way or another....all characters in fictions by American satirist Kurt Vonnegut are loony. Oskar, the dwarf hero who refused to grow up and banging the tin drum all day long is an eccentric...he's of course the main character in "The Tin Drum" by Gunther Grass. One of the craziest eccentrics I've ever come across is the chess mad protagonist in Elias Canneti's one and only great novel "Auto Da Fe"...Holden Caulfield is depressingly loony...He's the hero in "the cather in the rye" of course...all characters in one of the greatest children books I've ever read...alice in wonderland ...are marvelously loony...

But what I want to tell you is this book that I'm currently reading..."The underground man" by Mick Jackson. I don't know anything about this author and I discovered the book at a junk sale (Amcorp mall) and bought it for RM4.00. What attracted me to the book is the short blurb...Shortlisted for Booker Prize 1997....and now I'm reading it and have to put the others that I'm also currently reading on hold... and it says something about "The Underground Man" if I have to keep aside "Atomised" by Heullebecq , "The Line of Beauty " by Alan Hollinghurst, "The word According to the Son " by Norman Mailer (fictional account by Jesus of his life) "Among the Thugs" (Non fiction about football hooligans) by Brufford and "Dream Catcher" by Margaret Sallinger (autobiography/memoir)....

The protagonist in this book is definitely loony... an old ugly but lovable  duke living in a big mansion in a large estate in 19th century and with very amusing err.. musing....the book started with him thinking about apple trees...and it hooked me from the start...not what I would call a heavy reading but very nice feeling to it... his line of musings are things that I can identify with...nothing grandiose but v. funny....the book lost to Arundhaty Roy's  "the god of small thing" for Booker prize....which I have but have yet to read...

And one small post script... a couple of years ago, while in line at the immigration check point at Bangkok Airport...I saw Suhaimi Baba the film director in front of me...and she was reading "The God of small thing" while waiting for her turn to get her passport cleared... she was on her way to get her film (can't remember which one) processed or something in Bangkok....seems like she has  good taste in reading..........

seribulan

Conrad匰hakespeare匟emingway卪ost of their protagonists are loonies厃ou could depict one or two are more towards being antagonists卪ostly the protagonists in literary texts or the canon are created as having intricate psychological journey within themselves厀ell, you can say that as loony if you want to卙aha..
Well, there抯 To Kill A Mocking Bird卼he protagonist is not so loony, innit

sultana

Originally posted by Greenbottle3 at 3-8-2005 06:30 PM:
I suppose by definition all protagonists in good books are eccentrics one way or another....all characters in fictions by American satirist Kurt Vonnegut are loony. Oskar, the dwarf hero who refused to grow up and banging the tin drum all day long is an eccentric...he's of course the main character in "The Tin Drum" by Gunther Grass. One of the craziest eccentrics I've ever come across is the chess mad protagonist in Elias Canneti's one and only great novel "Auto Da Fe"...Holden Caulfield is depressingly loony...He's the hero in "the cather in the rye" of course...all characters in one of the greatest children books I've ever read...alice in wonderland ...are marvelously loony...

Well, I thought you don't read children books Greenbottle.... Okie then enough said about this.:bgrin:

  Hmm, I must agree with what you've stated up there.  I guess eccentricities in characters are rather like a magnet when we read a particular book. I should check out some of the titles that you've mentioned.Try reading "Life of Pi" by Yann Matel. ehm, "Midnight's children" by salman rushdie is not bad as well.

Greenbottle3

Ms seribu;

The authors particularly  Hemingway can be regarded as somewhat eccentric too! Don't know much about his works though... I've some of his books and collected stories but did not seem to have the urge to read them.. apart from "Travel with my aunt"... which is good...conrad too...my mind always wander when reading him...  

Ms Raisin... I mean sultana...

you mentioning alice in wonderland makes me want to reread this classic again... love the grinning cheshire cat which dissapears slowly with the last remaining part left is just the grin... the Jaberwocky...the dodo... the queen with her deliciously mad pronouncement "off with the head! off  with the head!!...."

don't know much about poetry but one of the the best poem I ever read is in Alice in wonderland... let me check and paste it here sometimes....

and by the way... you have great taste if you like rushdie... i know some guy... pessoa i think ....thinks that rushdie ought to be in a circus...for being so agile with his wordplay... but pessoa is mad....he doesn't even like cather in the rye....

marquez

Liking god of small things = good taste

Surely Mr Bond, you jest

sultana

Originally posted by Greenbottle3 at 4-8-2005 05:20 PM:
Ms seribu;

The authors particularly  Hemingway can be regarded as somewhat eccentric too! Don't know much about his works though... I've some of his books and collected stories but did not seem  ...

Not to mention, Salman Rushdie is a very contraversial writer as well.

Greenbottle3

mr marquez...

can't really say if god of small things is good or bad...haven't read it yet...but anybody reading booker winners can be categorized as having good taste i suppose....generally speaking... certainly better than reading potter..unless if you are EIGHT years old....

seribulan

Originally posted by Greenbottle3 at 5/8/05 03:22 PM:
mr marquez...

can't really say if god of small things is good or bad...haven't read it yet...but anybody reading booker winners can be categorized as having good taste i suppose....generally spe ...

:no:there's a saying...you're always a KID at heart...:cak:

but to get back to the subject of eccentricities...in a way these characterization make some characters seemed lovable...you hate
them but in another way you love them or admire them..in awe of them...or you just love to hate them...like Mr. Scrooge, Kurtz in HOD,
Pilate etc...

this link provide good analysis on this...http://www.writerbuddy.com/wbhome/articles/create_characters.html

a touch on eccentricity...

Eccentricity has frequently been at the heart of strong characterization for good reason. Ordinariness is what readers have enough of in life. The most effective characters have profound roots in human behavior. Their richest feelings may be similar to those held by many others. However, as characters their eccentricities dominate the readers first view of them. The first time I encountered this is through the character of Pilate, from Song of Solomon. She has no navel, yet has the ability to communicate with her dead father. I am still haunted by her dying.

Character-driven fiction/movies will stick to your ribs like ''soul food.'' It will make you examine the human heart and condition. Most of all, it often disturbs you like the book and movie, Beloved, yet you will find yourself driven to read these same books over and over.