The First Character I Fell in Love With
And the enduring wonder of fiction
All the reading she had done had given her a view of life that they had never seen.
Matilda by Roald Dahl
I was probably seven or eight years old when I first read Matilda. Every week, we had a reading class in school— we’d gather in the library, pick a book, and simply read. One day, I plucked Matilda off the shelves and fell in love with a character for the first time. Not in the way I had once obsessed over Barney, the purple dinosaur, but in a subtle, endearing way that forever changed how I related to stories.
Thinking back, it was my first dose of inspiration. I wanted to be like Matilda, escape into stories, and move things with my mind. While I didn’t develop telekinetic powers, I did find a lasting connection to fiction.
Stories transport us to new worlds. Escapism, we call it. But fiction is much more than an entertaining respite from reality. It’s how we make sense of the world. It’s where we gather wisdom and new perspectives. Fiction inspires and delights. It teaches us how others think and softens our inhibitions about unknowns. It offers a safe haven when moments are difficult and a sense of belonging, even if it’s among imaginary friends.
One of the best souvenirs from school was those reading classes. They were replaced in middle school in favour of more ‘serious’ lectures and I’ve always wondered who decided reading was a frivolous act?
I run a literary community where we read together in good company and talk books over food and drinks. Every person brings their current book—we don’t prescribe what anyone should read. Most people I meet within the community tell me how they rediscovered the joy of reading as an adult. Somewhere between being a kid who reads under the covers and an adult who stays up late for one more chapter lies a lost bibliophile, mourning the disappearance of a once-favoured hobby.
I’m drawn to fantasy. Not just for its magical worlds, impossible feats, and otherworldly characters, but because it’s a wonder of human imagination. I love how contemporary fiction poignantly comments on modern society and how historical fiction gives the past new meaning.
If you’ve ever thought fiction was mere amusement, think again. It’s instant kinship when you spot a stranger reading a book you like. It’s passion, scribbled in the margins as annotations and gifts meted out as recommendations. It’s creative expression at its finest and ideas passed down through lore.
So, what’s your favourite fiction book?