My new novel is written in the first person...well at least the first fifteen pages are, it's as far as I've gotten.
Gina's new novel was written in the first person, well at least the first fifteen pages were.
The latter is third person.
Writing in the first person seemed like a really great idea in the beginning and I love what my friend, the great writer Caroline Leavitt said about first person narrators, that they can be unreliable. But the further I get into my story the harder I am finding it is to tell history or backstory from this point of view. And how do I tell what other people think? How do I divulge the stories and secrets of other characters? And apparently the publishing world is really divided on first person tales, some loving it, some loathing it...oh great another thing to worry about!
Well, it turns out that my friend Jessica loves them, reads almost exclusively first person novels and has given me a stack of them to research. So, I guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend.
What about you? Is there a particular novel that is written from the main characters's point of view that you just love? If so...please tell me.
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4 comments:
a complicated kindness by miriam toews -
it's a fantastic canadian novel and my favourite book, probably ever. and it's first person. i have it in TO and ill bring it when im back but it's beautiful, and i think first person is the most moving.
ps it's katie.xxooxox
Fantastic!! I look forward to reading it. It's amazing how passionate people are about the first person novel, those who love it...ADORE it.
Thanks so much for sharing this with me!
xo G :)
Jean Claude Izzo's trilogy of mysteries set in Marseilles - Total Chaos, Chourmo, Solea - is in the first person, and it works well. I quite liked them.
Gina:
I think John Grisham's novel, "Rainmaker" is written in the first person. It's one of the best books I've ever read, and laugh-out-loud-funny to boot.
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