The Night Watch: Who do you relate to?

Now that we know all that has (so far) been written about these characters, who among them do you relate to/see yourself in most? Did that change as the story went on? (Reflecting back on this question from our first reading segment).

I feel like Helen is kind of a mess, but also relatable. She seems to be at the mercy of her emotions, and the way she treats both Julia and Kay is sometimes awful, but her emotions are so clear that I feel kind of sympathetic to her. I feel like I got to know her and I feel for her, even as I'm sometimes cringing at her behavior.

Kay is more admirable but I felt like I didn't get to know her as well, she's still a little bit of a mystery by the end of the book.

I also found Viv very sympathetic. I didn't totally understand her relationship with Reggie but I felt very engaged in her story and her struggles, large and small.

>2 elizajanecurtis: The part where Helen really lost me was where she was so thrilled by the idea of being wanted by someone (Julia) who (she thought) had rejected her current partner (Kay). Not that people are all sunshine and rainbows, but I thought that was very... calculating.

Yeah, that is kind of sad and awful! And she had it wrong! But I felt like all her flaws made her very human and relatable, if not thoroughly likable.

I was surprised at how strongly Helen reacted to getting the Kay/Julia relationship wrong. It seemed like more than being upset that Julia allowed her to believe something untrue.