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point of view
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From: HUMMINGRK at aol.com <HUMMINGRK>
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 12:34:58 EST
Nancy Werlin suggested that there is a downside to multiple points of view. In books "...structured as gems of short stories strung together as a beautiful necklace of a novel." (in the fine words of Dorian Chong), changing viewpoint works well because the framework guides the reader--the reader expects each chapter to have a new character's voice.
The problems arise in more traditional literature. Changing the point of view away from a character with whom the reader has come to identify risks alienating the reader. The example I have in mind is The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman. The story has a linear plot told in third person narration that uses the viewpoints of several characters. The problem is that The Subtle Knife follows The Golden Compass in which one character dominated the story. Many children (and myself!) felt abandoned by the author when first picking up the sequal... What happened to Lyra? What is going on? What world are we in? Fortunately the author writes with such mastery of adventure and suspence that readers do not drop the book but are drawn more and more into the mysteries.
Philip Pullman uses multiple viewpoints in The Subtle Knife to expand the scope of his exciting, complicated tale of interconnected worlds. Used by a lesser author, however, I think the technique would have failed.
And here is a question I have often pondered: Did Philip Pullman write The Golden Compass long before The Subtle Knife? It almost seems as if he started the tale long ago, then picked up the threads and began again when he wrote The Subtle Knife. Does anyone know more about why he chose to change the point of view so abruptly?
Lee Sullivan Hill
(author) Clarendon Hills, Illinois
Received on Mon 09 Nov 1998 11:34:58 AM CST
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 12:34:58 EST
Nancy Werlin suggested that there is a downside to multiple points of view. In books "...structured as gems of short stories strung together as a beautiful necklace of a novel." (in the fine words of Dorian Chong), changing viewpoint works well because the framework guides the reader--the reader expects each chapter to have a new character's voice.
The problems arise in more traditional literature. Changing the point of view away from a character with whom the reader has come to identify risks alienating the reader. The example I have in mind is The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman. The story has a linear plot told in third person narration that uses the viewpoints of several characters. The problem is that The Subtle Knife follows The Golden Compass in which one character dominated the story. Many children (and myself!) felt abandoned by the author when first picking up the sequal... What happened to Lyra? What is going on? What world are we in? Fortunately the author writes with such mastery of adventure and suspence that readers do not drop the book but are drawn more and more into the mysteries.
Philip Pullman uses multiple viewpoints in The Subtle Knife to expand the scope of his exciting, complicated tale of interconnected worlds. Used by a lesser author, however, I think the technique would have failed.
And here is a question I have often pondered: Did Philip Pullman write The Golden Compass long before The Subtle Knife? It almost seems as if he started the tale long ago, then picked up the threads and began again when he wrote The Subtle Knife. Does anyone know more about why he chose to change the point of view so abruptly?
Lee Sullivan Hill
(author) Clarendon Hills, Illinois
Received on Mon 09 Nov 1998 11:34:58 AM CST
