Books with god tier character development

Character development is not a necessary element of storytelling and the presence of character development doesn't automatically make a story good.
It is perfectly possible to write a good story without character development or a bad story with character development.
Character development has no inherent value.

anna karenina

I'm 100x more inspired by stories where characters undergo changes than stories where they don't
I think that says something

*tugs braid*
*folds arms across chest below bosom*
*smoothes dress*

Which characters did you feel developed? I thought everyone remained fairly static in their weaknesses, actions and traits (particularly Stoner and Edith) and that's what made the whole thing so depressing.

Fathers and Sons by Turgenev.

Bazarov's romance conflicting with his natural Nihilism and Arkady's move away from his unnatural Nihilism were amazing.

Well, I don't agree. Is it me or are you assuming that the most important aspect of a novel it's the plot? I can recall e.g. great short stories with rather boring events.
>It is perfectly possible to write a good story without character development...
Okay.
>or a bad story with character development.
Really? Give me one. I think that a bad "story" with good character development would be worthy. Can you give me an example where this happens?

This.

Despite what /tv/ will tell you, Dunkirk was a great movie despite the lack of character development.

>falling for the character meme

>he thinks Dunkirk is considered bad due to lack of character development

War and Peace, without a doubt. Tolstoy's masterpiece.

Stendhal - The Red and the Black

plot is equally unimportant

Stormlight Archives. Specifically Shallan, specifically book 2.

>unimportant
Did you mean that? I can name good books with shitty plot If you want.

I HATE YOU ALL, WHY DO YOU KEEP HAVING STUPID CONEERSATIONS

goodreads.com/series/56825-the-australians

How does Severian develope at all? He's a fucking unreliable narrator that is not to be trusted. He starts off the book a sociopath and ends a sociopath. Do you guys even know what character development is?

dear god you can't be serious
you clearly didn't understand the book and you probably like game of thrones too

No I hate GoT and pop fantasy. You probably haven't read any other Gene Wolfe and assume he is capable of writing more than one character. Literally all of his protagonists act exactly the same. There is no hidden genius, at least not any more than Catcher in the Rye or any other normie fiction.

first of all, take his progression from Severian to Severian-Thecla to Severian-Thecla-Autarch. You could write several essays on this alone. It's unique, he is recounting his original self when he has become several hundred others. He changes so wildly and completely that others go from seeing him as a freakish torturer or a simple boy to a regal, god-like figure who is instantly recognized without knowledge of the first thing about him. And yet, all that he was to become is contained in all his selves throughout time, through the non-linearity of time he is at once autarch, apu-panchau and concillator before even beginning his journey. The book is exactly about his character development, and likewise the development of humanity as he is its representative and culmination as the New Sun.

But his actual character never fucking develops. Character development is about internal processes not the airs a character puts on. By your definition Mr Garrison on South Park undergoes extremely character development.

I wouldn't call Severian a sociopath, but from beginning to end he is an asshole. Even if he doesn't admit it I think that it's clear that he gets a kick out of exercising any kind of power over others, strongest example being that at the start and end of his story his response to being inconvenienced by stubborn guards is to break their fingers, but at the same time there are things he does at the end of the story which are miles away from the start. The way he acts isn't too different but the way that he sees the world seems to be. I think that his revelation on the beach is pretty remarkable. He's still unpleasant at the end of the story but all of that awful stuff led to a lot of spiritual growth.

>haven't read any other Gene Wolfe
>all of his protagonists act exactly the same
not that user, Silk is pretty much a complete 180 on Severian. Unless that's considered cheating because in Book of the Long Sun the protagonist is actually Horn, who kind of is like Severian.

When he does first-person his characters tend to follow the same lines (bad relationships with women/family, guilt-ridden, ashamed of their past) but I don't think that anybody can deny that he's capable of creating a variety of fantastic characters outside of the first-person perspective.

Definitely Light in August.

Red Badge of Courage

This post reminds me why I don't read fantasy.

In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust has some of the greatest character development of all time

...

>Is it me or are you assuming that the most important aspect of a novel it's the plot?
Not in the least. Still character development would probably imply a story. If not then assume "a story" to mean "a work of fiction" in this case.
>I think that a bad "story" with good character development would be worthy.
Depends of what you would call a good or bad story. I we assume that good means well-written then, of course, well-written character development would reflect on the overall quality of the work. But character development is not necessarily well-written. Pretty much any coming-of-age YA schlock would feature some sort of stock "character development" to allow people like to wallow in sentimentality.

Was gonna post this. Not very good books, tbqh, but great character development.

This and Resurrection by Tolstoy.

>tfw I'm halfway through and after the unbelievable ride of the first battles nothing's happened but Nikolai hunting and Natasha whining for 100 pages
Pls tell me it's gonna get better soon lads

Dickens' Great Expectations.
PJ Woodehouse's Joy Comes in the Morning.

We're talking "development" as in "change", buddy.

A Confederacy of Dunces, but not until the last page or so. Kinda why I like it so much.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

I feel low intensity nausea after reading your post. I think that says something.