This week's book blogger hop, sponsored by Crazy for Books, asks who our "all-time favorite book villain" is. I'm not crazy about the wording here--I'd rather pick best villain over favorite villain, but for once, I'll try to quit quibbling over semantics.
I think Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lector from The Silence of the Lambs, is one of the best, most chilling villains ever created. And when Sir Anthony Hopkins brought him to life on the big screen, he played him to perfection: courteous, brilliant, engaging, cunning, and devastatingly sick & twisted.
However, one of my favorite fictional characters, whom most readers thought of as a villain for longer than anybody with sense really should have, is Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series. Admittedly, I'm a Snape fan, have been since book one, and, possessing the ability to differentiate "not nice" from "evil," I've rested comfortably in the knowledge that my convictions would play out in the end. Much to the chagrin of all the Snape-haters who then had to furiously backpedal and do revisionist histories of Hogwarts when they discovered he was not actually evil after all.
And as with Hannibal Lector, it certainly doesn't hurt that Alan Rickman plays Severus Snape in the film adaptations of the series!
Been a follower for quite a while now, so just popping rather than hopping by to say how much I enjoy reading your blog, packed so full of interest and good things.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever see Alan Rickman as Col. Brandon, hero of Sense and Sensibility, carrying off Kate Winslet in Ang Lee's film? Since Snape, despite his innate goodness, seems all wrong...
Hi, Deborah. Rickman as Colonel Brandon may have been the first time I fell for him--his voice, his restraint, his devotion, his strength of character. Never understood what Marianne saw in Willoughby when she had Brandon there.
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm a new follower from the Hop! Interestingly enough, I picked Voldemort from HP and when I was talking to my husband about it, he said he would have picked Hannibal. Not five minutes after our discussion, I come to your site. :) Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteAlan Rickman is a rockstar. He may be the best thing to ever happen to the Harry Potter movies.
ReplyDeleteHave we had this conversation before? I feel like maybe we were separated at birth. All through the Harry Potter books I kept saying, Snape is not really bad. And no one (including Carla) believed me. Snape is my favorite villain, too.
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to vote for your first choice. Hannibal chilled me from my toes to the tip of each hair on my head. YIKES, what a villain.
ReplyDeleteLove reading your blog. Makes me happy-and hey, it is ok to quibble over semantics. And isn't quibble a great word?
All joys to you,
Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island
Now here is a different kind of villain. I did NOT like Aunt Dete who took Heidi away from her beloved Grandfather. I could NOT STOP CRYING.
ReplyDeleteThe end.
Love,
S
Linsay, President Snow is a very good answer!
ReplyDeleteSiobian, that's pretty funny--would that be considered synchonicity?
Rabid Fox, amen.
Robyn, you should have been talking with Anne Walton Garrison and me re: Snape. AW and I are were completely united on that front. I guess I forgot that Carla wasn't in the Snape camp. And no, we haven't had this conversation before, but it's one that I love to engage in, time and again.
Hopping through. Snape is a fabulous villain/hero. Especially b/c of Rickman.
ReplyDeleteMy Hop