Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by The Broke and The Bookish! This week’s topic are books we wish had more or less of…something. Love triangles can be well-executed (Anna Karenina and The Age of Innocence both come to mind), but often don’t add anything interesting or special to the story, rather padding it with extra drama that doesn’t serve the underlying narrative very well. Here are ten books I wish I could read again without the love triangle element.
The Hunger Games: This is the start of an amazing trilogy about a young woman who conquers tremendous odds to become to be both a freedom fighter and a symbol of the resistance. Her relationship with Peeta is built slowly and organically, but the silly love triangle with Gale? Not even remotely necessary.
New Moon: Bella and Edward have plenty of obstacles in their romance without the artificial hurdle of stupid Jacob. This is the book where he’s the most real as a third leg of the triangle, but mostly he’s just sulking in the corner. Laaaaaame.
Water for Elephants: I loved this book about a young man who finds himself traveling along with a circus and working with an elephant, but the love triangle with Marlena and Jacob and August? Doesn’t add that much to the story, really.
The Interestings: While Jules and Ethan have a connection (and Ethan has a crush) when they’re teenagers, I never understood why it persists past the point when Ethan marries Ash and they have children. Jules is happily coupled, Ethan is happily coupled…why the need to add the *~drama~* of a long-burning love triangle?
Gone With The Wind: Has anyone who’s ever read this book or seen the movie ever understood why Scarlett gets so hung up on Ashley?
The Circle: Every single person involved in the Mae-Francis-Kalden triangle sucks. Mae is a selfish asshole, Francis is the worst kind of “she friendzoned me” bro, and Kalden only ever wants to bang in weird places. There’s no tension here.
From Dead To Worse: Most of the love triangles that make up Sookie Stackhouse’s romantic life are well-rendered and entertaining, but Quinn is my least favorite of her partners and when it comes to either him or Eric Northman, it’s hardly even imaginable why she might consider the other side.
Return Of The King: This is less of a love triangle than an ill-advised crush, but the half-heartedness of Eowyn-Aragorn-Arwen is just
The Marriage Plot: Being in a relationship with someone with a serious mental health issue is a topic that doesn’t get explored very often, and Eugenides handles that issue really thoughtfully. But inserting Mitchell’s crush on Madeleine like it’s a viable spoiler to that romance? Falls totally flat.
Sophie’s Choice: While Sophie’s love affair with Nathan is a beautifully tragic, Stingo’s desperate crush on her leads to one of the single most cringeworthy scenes I’ve ever read and it just feels so pointless.