Originally Posted by Karen 27th September 2005


JJ, Maureen, Martin and Jess...four really disparate people from all walks of life at very different stages of life. Was there one character you felt closer to? One you really didn't like? Why?

Deppraved


Would you believe I identified most with Jess? She felt like an expression of the inner rebelious teen who never quite left me. Although I did not grow up with the privileged life, and didn't have anything as traumatic as a sister who disappeared, her bitter narrative rung true for me. Each on eof them had something we all can relate to though, I think. Maureen seemed like the typical British woman of her age group, makes me think of Pink Floyd lyrics: "..hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.." If I were to have to endure her situation I may have deadened myself to everything too. And how crappy was her luck? The one and only time she has sexual intercourse, she gets pregnant, and ends up with a severly brain damaged son whom she must raise with no help and no moral support.

Karen


Sure, I think there are parts of all the characters that are universal in each and everyone of us. But I think we may see a trait or a problem or a situation that hits "closer to home" for each of us. Or something that just pushes our button with one of them.

Deppraved


I think Hornby deliberately wrote Jess to be an annoying fly in the ointment. (yes, I know, I'm the Queen of Cliches) Her insensitive rudeness sure did shake things up! Jess's self-destructive, in-your-face, angry-at-the-world personality was pretty infuriating. Maureen's repressed, mousey personality ruled by guilt was irritating. Maureen had little to no ego and the others were too self-centered. But I try not to judge, LOL.

MerryK


I really hadnt thought about if there was a certain character that I kind of related or connected to.

After pondering it for a while.. I have to lean towards Maureen with a bit of Jess thrown in. For obvious reasons.. with Jess.. I had a brother die tragically when I was 12 .. so I can understand what she has gone through with her parents. But more so with Maureen. We're closer in age.. for starters and I've had to be the caregiver to 2 family members till they passed on. Not quite the same as Maureen but still enough to get the an idea of what she was going through.

I have to say though.. if there was a character I didnt like.. it was Jess. I did not care for her flippin attitude.. and the way that she would just wave off to Maureen when the cuss words would fly... in my eyes that was extremely disrespectful.. especially after it was brought to Jess's attention many times. But yet.. she still made me laugh quite often.

I'm still not done with the book quite yet.. but knocked off quite a lot of pages during my lunch hour today.

JP


For me it is Maureen, and for the obvious reasons of age and being a mother. I have not had to go through what she has, but every mother worries about the survival of her child; what if her child cannot cope with the world or what life brings. This is certainly not at the same level as Maureen's worries, but it is a commonality.

Captainjacksparrow


Ican't seem to connect with any of the characters..hence why it is taking me so long to finish the book.....not sure that I really like any of them...they are so selfish..only looking at what their problems are..but then comparing them to the others to realize that they are small issues that they are dealing with....

Karen


I think it's about a learning experience. I don't know that he wanted us to like them...but maybe learn from them?

Captainjacksparrow

to get over our own pity party..that there is always someone with a bigger problem...

Deppraved


So very true! no matter how bad things seem, they can certainly always get worse

Jae


I am not sure I "related" to the characters...but certain characters got more of a rise out of me than others. I was probably most concerned with Martin...since his crime was so exposed and so socially unacceptable, he really was never far away from the fingers pointing at him to have a chance to heal. So I was most curious how he was going to endure. Maureen was the most surprising. As a mother myself, I thought her reasoning was so incredibly sad that she would get to that point that she felt she had no life of her own by caring for her son. To be doing something so loving and so caring and feeling so useless...was incredibly sad.