For relationships, I adore the tales from Jack Vance's "The Dying Earth". I especially love the tale of T'sais, and her encounter with Etarr. The juxtaposition of T'sais' flawed perceptions of ugliness in beauty with Etarr's actual ugliness hiding true beauty are breathtaking. This book, to me, is an absolutely breathtaking exploration of the role emotional romance has in overcoming physical reality.
For relationships, I adore the tales from Jack Vance's "The Dying Earth". I especially love the tale of T'sais, and her encounter with Etarr. The juxtaposition of T'sais' flawed perceptions of ugliness in beauty with Etarr's actual ugliness hiding true beauty are breathtaking. This book, to me, is an absolutely breathtaking exploration of the role emotional romance has in overcoming physical reality.
One question I'd ask is if anyone had an unexpected relationship develop between two characters while they were in the process of writing the story.