Do you love the books you love as a result of getting the sense of familiarity?

[valleyjune]

Hello everyone! :wave: I have been wondering if people prefer books where they find something of themselves or their desires to identify with. For example, the last book I read -reread indeed- was Wuthering Heights which is one of my favourite books. I would regard myself as as little -at least ;)- self-destuctive and for sure I would like to believe in absolute unconditional love, the soulmate thing that I see in it.

What do you think?

[sprinks]

That is interesting and not something I really have thought about, but I think you may be right... I find I like books where the character has a similar goal in life to me and so when I finish reading and they reach that goal I feel a sense of fulfillment. Also I like characters that have similar views on things as I do... Although it is still good to read characters that have differing views, I still prefer books with characters similar to myself.

[curlyqlink]

It's irrelevant to me. I don't have to identify with the character to enjoy the story, though it doesn't hurt either. I have nothing in common with Odysseus or Madame Bovary. Maybe I have a tiny bit in common with King Lear (not the king bit...)

I think it's sadly narrowing to only be interested in characters that resemble oneself.

[DapperDrake]

Yes I think we do identify with the books we like, it's only natural I suppose. Though I'd say it's not a hard and fast rule, there are plenty of books I like that I don't identify with at all but rather just like them because they're a masterpiece, worth reading and enjoyable purely because of the skill and brilliance that went into them.

For example I don't identify with "the importance of being earnest" but I love the wit. I don't identify with Frankenstein but I love the plot and the writing.

The vast majority of the books I like though I can identify with its true.

[DapperDrake]

I think it's sadly narrowing to only be interested in characters that resemble oneself.

Personally I can Identify with many qualities, and not just specific characters but the ethos of a book, or maybe just some characteristics of some of the characters.
I think authors often deliberately give us something to associate with in the protagonist.

[amalia1985]

Yes, you're probably right. Remember what I posted in "Wuthering Heights"? That I love almost everything Gothic? I haven't really thought about that, but I am certain that if I make a list of all my favourite characters, the reasons of my preference will definitely have something to do with my character. I always fall for anything dark- in normal levels, though- so my favourite novels and plays are those that are generally considered "dark". BUT, I also enjoy lighter pieces of Literature, I love epics, and so on. We can say that it works both ways, I suppose.

[valleyjune]

I think authors often deliberately give us something to associate with in the protagonist.

Probably this is true for some authors. Or some others could just write about what they have experienced in a way or another, what they are or what they long for. I would like to think that there are still writers who just write for the fun of it, to express themselves and not just to increase the numbers of their readers... :(

[valleyjune]

It's irrelevant to me. I don't have to identify with the character to enjoy the story, though it doesn't hurt either. I have nothing in common with Odysseus or Madame Bovary. Maybe I have a tiny bit in common with King Lear (not the king bit...)

I think it's sadly narrowing to only be interested in characters that resemble oneself.

I wouldn't like being misunderstood. When I say that I identify with characters, goals etc in works of Literature I love, I don't mean that I don't read or like anything else. But again, I am talking about our most preferred books. And think... We all are so different from each other that who could tell what one sees in a story or hero? Different perspectives could lead to different points of view and attitudes towards the same situation or person. It impressed me going through a Wuthering Heghts forum the different things people saw in the main characters and the different reasons the ones that liked the novel gave for doing so. What I want to say is that I could love a book because I love gothic, like my friend Amalia 1985 :) , but someone else could like it because he would find one of the characters or the main subject of it quite romantic and so on...