Existential Book Club discussion

What makes a character feel truly “alive” in literature?
Is it their memories, their fears, or the illusions they cling to?
I’m curious to know what gives fictional characters a sense of real existential weight for you.

Raphaël wrote: "What makes a character feel truly “alive” in literature?
Is it their memories, their fears, or the illusions they cling to?
I’m curious to know what gives fictional characters a sense of real exist..."

Hi Raphael, thank you for this interesting question.

In my opinion, the most important factor is relatability- can you see yourself/someone close to you, within this character or not?
As to what tools does the author use to make the characters " jump of the pages", so to speak , this is probably a different question? If the book is written well, the reader doesn't even know how it happened- he is just enjoying the results of skilful writing.

:)

Jasmine

Thank you, Jasmine — I really appreciate your perspective.

I agree that relatability is a powerful entry point into a character’s world. But I’ve always been fascinated by how a character can feel “alive” even when they are nothing like us — when their fears, wounds, or contradictions reveal something human we hadn’t noticed in ourselves.

Perhaps that’s the secret:
we don’t connect to characters because they mirror us, but because they illuminate parts of us we didn’t know were there.

Do you think a character needs to resemble the reader to feel real,
or can “otherness” itself create a deeper sense of life?

— Raphaël

Raphaël wrote: "Thank you, Jasmine — I really appreciate your perspective.

I agree that relatability is a powerful entry point into a character’s world. But I’ve always been fascinated by how a character can feel..."

Hi Raphael, you are of course right; what you say helps to complete my previous thought- thank you.

Even " the worst possible" character is a bit like us, simply because it is not possible to understand what does " anger" mean, if you have never been angry yourself, not even one drop etc; or/and, we can relate the fictional person' characteristic to a quality of a person we know.

However, going back to your very first question, what are those " fool proof tricks" that genius writers use to make pages come alive? I can honestly say I do not " know", but I sometimes " feel".
For example, I have tried to analyse some pages of Leo Tolstoy masterpieces- ie the length of sentences/the essence of the expressions/the proportions between characters own thoughts and how others see them etc etc, from different angles, but it just doesn't work, I mean I couldn't find any " formula";

its all about magic and intuition, in my opinion, that is :)) plus, may be... Fibonacci numbers..?? :o))))

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine,

Thank you for expanding your thoughts — I truly enjoyed reading your reflection.

I love what you said about how even “the worst possible character” carries a fragment of us, or of someone we’ve known. It’s a beautiful reminder that we understand emotions not through definitions, but through experience — and that’s why fiction feels so alive.

Your point about Tolstoy made me smile. I’ve also tried to dissect certain masterpieces, searching for the “mechanism” behind their magic… only to discover that the more you analyze the gears, the more the mysterious engine slips away.

Maybe that’s the real secret:
great writing isn’t built on a formula — it’s built on a pulse.

Something intuitive, almost unconscious, that moves between writer and reader without either fully knowing how.

And now you’ve made me curious:
when you read a character who feels truly alive, what is the first thing that captures you —
their voice, their contradictions, or something else entirely?

— Raphaël

Hi Raphaël :o)

Its so easy chatting to you, our thoughts seem to align, I mean yes, we could say " pulse", "vibe", Fibonacci numbers", they all mean the same thing really don't they- its a language of the Universe we all " feel in our bones", no words are required.

However.. speaking of words.. when I read a book, I guess the first two things I feel are- do I like or dislike this character? and do they ring true, are they believable? did real person like this exist? Better still, do I recognise this "pattern of a human" as applicable to many thousands of people I've met?

For even though we are all unique, there are certainly patterns, and in case you'll say "no way!", I've got both Agatha Christie and astrology on my side, as well as psychology, in no particular order.

:)))

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine,

Your message was a pleasure to read — you have a beautiful way of weaving intuition and thought together. I agree with you: whether we call it a pulse, a pattern, or the Fibonacci rhythm of the universe, some things are felt long before they are understood.

And you’re right about characters. For me, a believable character isn’t the one that resembles a real person, but the one that carries a human truth — a pattern, as you said — something we’ve met a thousand times without ever naming it.

Even uniqueness follows a kind of music, and every reader recognizes fragments of their own melody in the people they meet on the page. Perhaps that’s why storytelling works at all.

Your mention of Agatha Christie, astrology, and psychology made me smile — three very different languages trying to describe the same mystery.

Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts.

Raphaël