The Rise of Gru was the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2022, making a total of $939.6 million in national and worldwide sales. This franchise is for all age groups to watch and enjoy, meaning I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing where the storyline of Gru has gone. Seeing how we now know more about his backstory, I think I can make some educated guesses on what books Gru would own!
Book No. 1: Frankenstein
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a must-have on Gru’s bookshelf, seeing as how it deals with the exploration of power, responsibility, and the pursuit of knowledge. Both Gru and Victor Frankenstein have scientific ambitions and possess exceptional intelligence and inventiveness, constantly creating new gadgets and inventions. There are a lot of parallels that this book has with Gru’s ideologies as supervillain turned anti-hero. Which is why this will definitely be taking precedence on his bookshelf!
Book No. 2: Dracula
Dracula by Bram Stoker is another classic that Gru would own. As we all know, Gru is a notorious supervillain and transitions into a more heroic role throughout the movie. Similarly, Count Dracula is a quintessential villain in gothic literature. Both characters have a dark past associated with villainy and undergo transformations throughout their respective narratives. These characters have a lot of interesting similarities that would cause Gru to have owned this book and be considered one of his faves.
Book No. 3: Crime and Punishment
These characters, Gru and Raskolnikov may not seem like they have a lot in common, but they do, in fact, have some very unique and potential connections as to why this would be on Gru’s bookshelf. Psychological complexity would be one; both Gru and Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Crime and Punishment, wrestle with the trouble of navigating their moral compass. Raskolnikov is tormented with guilt and struggles to deal with his actions, and Gru goes through the transformation of being a self-centered supervillain to a compassionate hero-like dad!
Book No. 4: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Both Gru and Dorian Gray struggle with self-image and identity throughout their unique stories. And they have many correlations, like struggling with their moral compass and how both characters are represented negatively at the start. Gru and Dorian Gray, though vastly different, have a lot of thematic connections even though they belong to two different artistic mediums. With this being said, Gru would definitely relate to and own this book.
Book No. 5: Where The Wild Things Are
This book is such a nostalgic read, and I just had to add this one to Gru’s bookshelf. It makes sense for a few children’s books to be scattered amongst all the dark and villainous books that he might own, seeing as he is a father of three. In the first Despicable Me movie, he was shown reading Agnes a bedtime story. But this children’s book is a definite must for Gru to own. Especially as both characters, Gru and Max, find out the importance of self-discovery and one’s place in the world. Gru finds his purpose in becoming a father, and Max discovers aspects of his own identity as he interacts with the Wild Things and then returns home. Both were very different stories, but the same path was traveled.
If it were proven that Gru was a reader, these books that have been discussed would definitely be the most read books that he owns on his bookshelf. If he isn’t, I have some very detailed recommendations for him with reasons why he would love them. If there’s a next movie, I expect to see these books make a cameo, please, and thank you!
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