Imaginary Friends: How Dracula, Alice, Superman and Others Taught Me About Life

Renowned bibliophile Alberto Manguel, who, in his own words, envisions his life as «the turning of the pages of many books», explores how literary characters have lived with us since childhood, change themselves, and change us. These fictional people teach us to understand the world and sometimes become more significant and real than actual people. Manguel's 37 characters are very diverse. Here we find Little Red Riding Hood, biblical righteous figures; often they are not protagonists, as in the case with Mr. Bovary, Gertrude, or Phoebe from «The Catcher in the Rye». Manguel discusses what attracted him to all of them, what truths they revealed to him, why they are relevant in our time, and prompts us to remember and rethink our own literary attachments. The light, at times ironic narrative style, which highlights and simultaneously underscores the depth and unexpectedness of the thoughts, is supported by amusing author illustrations.