.....of the literary type. Here goes my list of the choicest as mentioned earlier....
1. Karla Saarnen (Shantaram) - Beautiful, clever, smart and complicated. Her wisdom is the reason for many of the unforgettable lines in the book. Mysterious, poignant and wise as well - one philosophical heroine(!).
2. Adah Price (Poisonwood Bible) - The twin who doesn't talk. In spite of this, her impact in the book is great. Extremely witty and smart, she has a life and spirit of her own, that the other 3 sisters don't exhibit.
3. Tereza (The Unbearable Lightness of Being) - I share a love-hate relationship with Tereza. I like her in many parts of the book while she displays some spirit and strength - she just practices detachment from him. I like that her character is portrayed as someone taking a risk - by all her photojournalist exploits in Prague. I don`t like that she is always insecure of Tomas` infidelity but never once confronts him. Instead she runs away, every time. I also don`t like how she is portrayed to be so revolted by everything that`s physical - scars from her past due to the experiences with her mother. But I like how she is portrayed to have completely isolated the physical and emotional aspects of herself. In the later parts, she lives in the countryside having persuaded Tomas to let go of his fooling around with other women. To me, she is the ultimate character contradiction.
4.Dominique Francon (Fountainhead) - Somehow Fountainhead is what came to my mind uncalled for rather than Atlas Shrugged. I dont know why. I would never list either of these two books as my favorites or on the "re-read" list but the characters had quite the impact at that age - I was 20 when I read them. Dagny Traggart is very unrealistic and wants to destroy Roark because she wants his greatness to succeed. And she wants herself to fail as well as a punishment to herself for trying to destroy Roark. Her masochist streak is the only realistic trait in an absolutely unrealistic woman.
...........to be continued....