Character Connection: Ivan

This is a wonderful meme hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader. Every week, you share one literary character that you love with your fellow bloggers. You talk about the character, say why you love them and hope that everyone else will love them too.;) Be sure to post the book’s title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters.

MY CHARACTER THIS WEEK: Ivan
Ivan is a character in Cecelia Ahern’s novel If You Could See Me Now.

Elizabeth, the protagonist, finds out that her nephew Luke, whose guardian she is, has an imaginary friend he calls Ivan. She believes his imaginary friend is a consequence of living in a dysfunctional family, but then, Elizabeth starts to feel the presence of another person in the house and one day, she meets Ivan, Luke’s friend. Ivan is real.

Ivan is a great character, one of my favourite fictional male characters created in the past few years. He is happy and dedicated, child-like, but not childish. He is very generous, simple and pure at heart. It’s his job to help people and make them happy, and he is devoted to his profession, as well as to the people he befriends.

He spends time with Elizabeth and tries to be her friend, and although Elizabeth discards him in the beginning, she grows closer to him and they become friends. Ivan falls in love with Elizabeth, but he is said because they cannot be together. When her soul has healed completely, she will not need him anymore and consequently, she will also not see him anymore. SPOILERS: One thing is clear to the reader from the beginning of the novel, but Elizabeth is oblivious to the truth: Ivan is an imaginary friend. He belongs to the invisible people who are only seen by those in need of help. Once you don’t need an invisible person anymore, you don’t see them anymore, but they are real. Ivan fears the day Elizabeth will not see him again, but he is also happy for her. His feelings for her are very unselfish. END OF SPOILERS.

Ivan truly is what I like to call a great guy. He can make you laugh and he is always there for you when you need him. He would make a great friend.