Goodreads asked Julie Demboski:

Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Julie Demboski I had to think about this a bit, as I realized that most stories involving couples are told from one or the other POV--and so show less of an objective relationship and more of one shrouded in romantic perceptions--which automatically distort the view the reader receives. I'm not anti-romance, but I am anti- anything that removes a relationship from the world in which it exists--that's part of the reason so many people suffer with unreal expectations as to what a relationship can and should supply. So, now that I've sucked all the fun out of this, I'll tell you who (eventually) came to mind: Quoyle and Wavey of Annie Proulx's 'The Shipping News'. I like them because their relationship wasn't a romantic tangle of each individual looking for a magical 'Other', but a connection that happens almost against their will, as each battered individual finds comfort and shelter in the other. Their interaction lifts them up, but without removing them from who they are, where they are, and without placing a dazzling sheen over their perceptions. Do I dislike romance? Not at all--but I do think it acts as a poison when it's the primary lens through which we choose to see another. And thank you, whoever you are, for the question :)

flag