Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Odd Villains

I've run across some odd villains in my reading life.




Fungus the Bogeyman in
Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs
Fungus spends his days in his job as a bogeyman frightening humans.
He loves the damp, the cold, and rotten food.
Level of Villainy: More disgusting than scary.




The Nargun in
The Nargun and the Stars by Patricia Wrightson
The Nargun is an ancient rocklike creature who is stirred to anger when people start clearing the land near his home.
He dumps the grader into a pond and hides the bulldozer inside a mountain.
Level of Villainy: We could use more Narguns, I think.




The Bureaucracy in 
The Castle by Franz Kafka
The Castle is the story of a man, K., trying to gain access to a huge castle. A mysterious bureaucracy requests K. come to the castle, yet when he arrives he is told he is not wanted. K. tries to do everything he can to get into the castle, but he never does.
Level of Villainy: High. Bureaucracies are a villain modern people must face every day. 




The Cucumber King in
The Cucumber King by Christine Nostlinger
A creature who describes himself as the Cucumber King arrives in the living room of a family and  haughtily demands that the family wait on him.
Level of Villainy: High. A guest who refuses to leave? A cucumber that insists others must be his servants?




Watches in
Hundreds of young women worked in factories, making glowing dials for watches using radium. But radium was a poison which gradually caused the teeth of the women to loosen and fall out and caused bones of the women to weaken and crumble.
Level of Villany: Very high. To be poisoned by your workplace.





War in
The Day War Came by Nicola Davies
On an ordinary day, war arrives in a town and turns it to rubble.
Level of Villainy: War feels unstoppable to a child.



Teenagers and the Educational System in
The Battle for Room 314: My Year of Hope and Despair in a New York City High School
Ed Boland idealistically decides to become a high school teacher in a school with high rates of poverty among its students. He ends up leaving his job, in despair. 
Level of Villainy: A system that tells you to one thing, yet offers you no way to do that thing, and no support, is deeply villainous.


The Strange Library in
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
A spooky library won't let you leave.
Level of Villainy: If the book selection was good, I wouldn't mind staying.



Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen
Cyn's friend is crazy about the new school librarian. But the librarian seems to be sucking the life force out of the students. Could he be...a demon?
Level of Villainy: This book was so scary I couldn't finish it. Nothing is scary like a scary librarian.



What odd villains have you run across in your reading?





Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

11 comments:

  1. Oh nice picks! All totally new to me ones too!

    Here's my Tuesday Post

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  2. An 'evil librarian'? I might have to try that one just because of that character. LOL

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  3. I haven't read any of these but after reading your post there are a few I want to read.

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  4. What a fun list of books! The Radium Girls has been on my list for a long time so it's good to be reminded of it.

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  5. I didn't realize The Evil Librarian was scary. I thought it was supposed to be funny. But I didn't read any of it. Now I won't for sure. My TTT Since I've done this TTT two other times I decided to list heroes/heroines.

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  6. I like your spin on the topic. I haven’t seen these books on anybody else’s list. I haven’t read any of them, but I do want to read Radium Girls eventually (even though I already know the story).

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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