26 July 2007

Best moustache-twirling ...

Well, after last week’s record-breaking number of responses (92 last time I checked–an all-time BTT record), I was tempted to use this week’s question to ask what you all thought about Harry Potter 7–but since a decent proportion of you weren’t going to be reading it at all, that seemed unfair. So instead . . .

Who’s the worst fictional villain you can think of? As in, the one you hate the most, find the most evil, are happiest to see defeated? Not the cardboard, two-dimensional variety, but the most deliciously-written, most entertaining, best villain? Not necessarily the most “evil,” so much as the best-conceived on the part of the author…oh, you know what I mean!

This one was hard, since most of the villains that immediately sprang to my mind were from movies I'd seen, that were either never books, or not books I'd ever read. But then I remembered reading The Woman in White a few months back, and how much I absolutely detested Sir Percival Glyde (OK, to be honest, his name being "Percival" didn't help matters ...). From the moment he appeared in the story, I knew I didn't like him. His character really had no redeeming qualities.

I also thought of Dolores Umbridge, of Harry Potter fame. Yes, her character is a revolting one, but I think what made me really latch on to her as evil was that she reminded me of so many people in the world today who have power, whether legitimately or not, and feel that it is their right to make the rest of us bend to their wills or opinions.

I'm sure I could think of some others, but since this is Booking Through Thursday, and not Booking Through the Week to See What You Come Up With, I'll settle for those two ...

And Now For Something Completely Different ... (no, not The Larch!)

I was reading through some knitting blogs today, and saw one of the best T-shirts ever here. Go to the entry for July 25 and take a look - I think I may have to get one for myself. Especially since the sheep looks so happy!

6 comments:

Mistrmi said...

The tee is fantastic; wonder how to get one?

Glyde was revolting, wasn't he? And all the made Umbridge stomachable (?) in the film was that Imelda Staunton played her.

Carol said...

Well, geez, you sure missed the obvious choice for a knitting blog: Madame DeFarge of A Tale Of Two Cities.

The other choice that comes to mind is pretty darn obscure, but if you're an Agatha Christie fan, the very last Hercule Poirot book, which I think is "Curtain," features a nasty villain with a twist (of course) but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it.

Literary Feline said...

I haven't yet read Women in White, but I can imagine a character with the name of Percival might be up to no good. :-)

Umbridge definitely is an evil, power hungry woman.

Great choices!

the wicked witch of the east said...

i think madam defarge is an awesome choice and so is umbridge, who's made to be even more despicable in book 7...but my pick is a toss up between lady macbeth and napoleon from animal farm...both are two of the nastiest pieces of work in all of lit.

so what do you think of book 7??

Carol said...

How about the someday biography of Bush? I loved that t-shirt! I also want one that says "All your yarn are belong to me".

barbp said...

Great book reports! I love the tshirt and just sent them an email asking if I can order one. Thanks for the link.