People often talk about celebrities they would love to meet. When asked what famous person they’d like to meet, most people reply with an actor or actress. Some more literary folks might even reply with the name of an author. But how many people would reply with the name of a fictional character?
Just think how awesome that would be. Imagine you’ve been reading a book series and want to know one, tiny detail about the literary character that the author hasn’t mentioned in the course of the story. You could ask them yourself: vinyl or MP3s? Or maybe you want to know what it’s like to live in their fictional universe. What is Hogwarts really like? Drafty? Perhaps you might intervene in this character’s life and try to right the wrong turns they’ve taken in their lives. Tell Lizzie Bennett that it’s all a big misunderstanding. You could even take the discussion to a whole, new, meta level and ask them what it’s like to have their entire lives dictated by the whims of one man or woman. Is Jay Gatsby self-aware? Does he know how annoying infatuated he’s been acting?
Recently, the LA Times asked folks on Twitter which literary character they’d most like to meet. There was Holden Caulfield, Atticus Finch, and even Daenarys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. Those are all pretty good choices, but I have my own literary characters I’d love to meet. Of course, I would love to meet someone from the Harry Potter world. Maybe Hermione and I could discuss the finer points of literature and study habits. I’d also love to meet Sam Vimes from the works of Terry Pratchett, Thursday Next from the series by Jasper Fforde, and maybe even Mia Thermopolis from the Princess Diaries novels. I’d like to hear her opinion on the move adaptation starring Anne Hathaway.
So, who would you meet? Who is on your literary wish list of dinner guests? Leave them in the comments!
– Jet Fuel Blog Editor, Mary Egan
