A couple years ago I read Crime and Punishment, and something I really liked about it was how well you feel you know the protagonist by the end. You get to hear his every thought, every scruple – it's almost claustrophobic how close the reader is to his psyche, and he's a very complex character so there's a lot to explore there.
Another writer I like for this reason is Ursula K Le Guin, particularly The Left Hand of Darkness. Ai and Estraven are obscure at first, and then slowly through the course of diary entries you get to know them as people – their histories, their culture and how they struggle with it, and as they become more open with each other the reader is drawn closer and closer also. And they feel like real people.
I don't know if there is a word for what I'm looking for besides psychologically intimate – intensely character driven? character study? – but if anyone has recommendations for other books that really spend a lot of time letting the reader get to know a complex character(s), I would really appreciate it!
by aurjolras
1 Comment
Haven’t read much at all of LeGuin but a book that sounds like the sort of thing you’re asking about is *Rupert: A Confession*, by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer. It’s very good indeed.