By Meghan E.
Author Gina Damico has a knack for taking dark and demonic and turning it into something both unbelievably funny and genuinely original. She takes both wit and sarcasm blends them together with an amazing take on third person to bring you a delightful read that cannot only be understood and appreciated by teenagers; but maybe even catch the interest of an older crowd. Gina may write for teens but her work is definitely not shallow, vain or cliché ridden in the attempt to catch the younger crowds attention.
In your wondering about the afterlife, heaven hell and all the like, did you ever imagine your soul's fate would be left in the very 'hot' hands of a young teenage girl who makes the Hulk's anger look like a dream? Armed with a black hoodie and a pencil sized scythe Lex Bartleby has come to chaperon your soul to the afterlife.
Lex is angry, but at what is the question? The answer, nothing absolutely nothing. A once model student who enjoyed sending students to detention, she now enjoys sending anyone who crosses her path to the emergency room both in school and out. Fed up and at their wits end her parents and twin sister send Lex to spend the summer with her good ol' uncle Mort in a town called Croak. Here we learn grim reapers aren't gods, there is no hell and everyone goes to 'heaven' with a clean slate. Sounds just peachy no? Except that everyone's a little too interested in Lex's ability to collect souls faster than should be possible. Hilarity and an amazing array of characters ensue as Lex's therapy/summer job keeps you turning from page to page and you get to see the real Lex Bartleby emerge.
Our main protagonist has definitely earned a spot on the list of biggest train wrecks in the long vast world of literary hot messes; but that's what makes her so god damn appealing. She knows she's a wreck, she knows there is most definitely something wrong with her, but she doesn't embrace it; she laughs at it! She plots making squirrels her minions, allows herself to be tied to kitchen tables with jump ropes and even tries to beat up the person giving her a ride while enroute. Through all this craziness is the nonstop inner dialogue riddled with unbelievable wit and sarcasm of a girl on the fast track to the FBI's most wanted list. You can't help but want to take her side even when its so clear she's in the wrong. Don't let the tough guy act fool you though, she may have reduced a varsity hockey team to a sobbing mess; but Lex is most definitely a teenage girl. You just have to wait for those rare side splitting moments of teenage awkwardness and hormones.
I have only read two of Gina Dimarco's books, but I have to say both its name and cover are misleading. The only thing dark about this book is the twisted mind of our characters, and an ending that leaves you crying not just for the sequel; but our poor deviant as well. Any fan of fantasy, mystery, or just the good old fashioned question about the afterlife will fall in love with both Lex and the town of Croak. You just have to get over your prejudice about third person and learn the rhythms and rhymes of Dimarco's inventive narrative.
Second review
The Winding Path of Storytelling
In the harrowing world of the written tale the perspective is one of, if not the most crucial element in weaving your tale. First person, second person, third, there aren't simply three ways to tell a story; if you give it the right twist, the right flare your story can truly come to life.
The 'three' categories you can choose from have their varying forms of popularity. Ironically the most popular (particularly for teen books) is first person, with the least being second person. That just leaves third person in the middle, the most complex of the categories. You yourself narrate what the character is doing, or in some case characters; you can essentially play god if you choose that path.
Nowadays most readers prefer the one mind perspective, I confess that I too am one of those shallow souls, but when an author truly knows how to use the tools handed to them it no longer matters how I view this world. If done right all sense of vagueness and rigidness is gone, the informality so loved about first person is found too in third person. The inner monologue the hilarious quips and references that give the book life can still be found but not lost through the narration. What I have found personally and through questions with others that truly though deters one from third person narratives is simply put 'detachment.' They feel the characters emotions are too shallow, they hear in their minds not real life interactions and real circumstances; but a steady drone of unremarkable narration. Instead of thrills, they repress yawns, instead of pulling all-nighters because they have to know what's next, they pull up Wikipedia. To truly utilize third person one has to use every tool available, but not to the point where the story is so bursting that you can't put the effort in to finish the book itself; and that's exactly what Neal Shusterman does in his novel.
Unwind, is a story that is so unique in its story, that it's narration can't help but be influenced as well. Told through different alternating perspectives the story lives up to its name by bringing you back and forth across the very line of the story. That's not what catches the reader's attention though, it's the little 'slips' he makes amidst the telling. All third person seems to be past tense, the narrator just a step ahead of the character; but in these cases it seems like the story has already ended. Like the narrator knows the ending but is trying as hard as possible to not let the reader know that this is a recount. As you read and even at the end of the book the answer is unclear to the reader, is this a recount? Is the narrator floating around the character like in most books? Or by the end of the second book will it all be revealed that a man reminiscent to Lemony Snicket is sitting in an attic writing about these people he's only known in passing. Did the author do this in order to keep you hooked? Are these just small typos that the reader could be reading into? I certainly felt more driven to reach the conclusion as I thought more and more about how the ending could answer this question.
These small past tense slips could virtually go unnoticed if the story and it's telling were linear, but Unwind is not a linear story. We are given three almost completely different perspectives to center around, rash Connor, level headed Risa and unbelievably lost Lev. These aren't the only characters whose eyes we see through though, you see through villains, accomplices, and neutral characters as well. This feeds into your already conspiracy theory riddled mind, all these accounts, all these different perspectives how will our three turn out. This lack of a set line is quite different from most of the books that have been churned out lately. All the 'popular' books and even some that aren't feel like a nonstop train barreling towards the end. Now unwind is by no means slow, it is very fast paced and the characters linger nowhere for long; but despite that it is Shusterman's own twist that gives the book more depth than most.
Shusterman doesn't simply have multiple characters for the sake of characters, each character adds another perspective, another ripple the story makes upon the world. It shows you how each choice the characters make, each action does truly have an effect, a consequence. He does this by rewinding the clock a few minutes when he adds a new character, shows their approach to the situation created by the main character. Yet the story remains as fast paced as ever, its this depth added that ties into our theory.
What is the outcome? Do they change the world and this is their manifesto? Did they fail and their story is now propaganda to ignite a rebellion? All these thoughts are ignited through the master of the storytelling, the detachment of the third person the little past tense phrases so carefully scripted you almost miss them. It is through this third person perspective that the world comes to life that you see the many shades of the world. Beautifully and so uniquely crafted is the narration of Unwind that I honestly can find almost no other comparison to how the author takes full advantage to both his narrative perception and character perception.
Third person is by far the most difficult to write correctly, if the tiniest of nuance or detail is missed then your reader will grow unattached from both the book and author. It must be done so that the reader can truly understand the thoughts and emotion of the character despite being second hand from the author. The reader to truly reach this must forget that it is not the character but the narrator telling the story.
So truly Neal Shusterman is an artist when it comes to weaving a tale, he truly knows both the ins and outs of not just third person but both mystery and suspense. All this greatness achieved from so little a thing as 'Lev doesn't know it yet' or the simple three page perception of a juvie cop. If only other authors could learn from his writing, maybe first person would share it's spot at the top of the pedestal.
Vivid Narration
The third book in the amazing Glass Throne series the author Sarah J, Maas has displayed an amazing talent for bringing her world to life right down to the little details.
Her books are multi perspective but we always come back to our main protagonist who's mind moves at a speed outside of her other pro/antagonists. In no other book have I truly been able to see inside the calculating mind of that one character who is just downright faster than everyone else. She is cocky condescending and unbelievably arrogant, but so much more. This itself is only possible because Sarah J. Maas has managed a form of narrative I have almost never seen an author use right.
All her characters tell their own story, they narrate their chapters in third person themselves. You don't hear the authors voice at all, just our characters, just our many colorful characters. Each thinks at their own pace each has their own mental quirks. My favorite by far being the main character who as I said before is just one step ahead of everyone; even herself.
'She bristled-exactly like he wanted. "who's to fight here except birds and beasts?"
Simple little interjections or interruptions in the flow of narration give us an idea of how cunning or brutal our protagonist is without long lengthy descriptions. Maas manages to explain a sudden change or thought and continue her fast paced action or banter. Rather than stop mid scene or thought with a paragraph or two of explanation and thriller we are both able to see deeper into the scene and not get bored or lost before it's over.
By far no one in her books who narrates can be considered slow, but there is such a difference from the cunning assassin to simple head guard it's truly beautiful. We see all their emotions all their actions, their arrogance, their joy. They don't have to tell you with the exact words 'I'm sad' or 'I'm angry' their own narration of their actions the actual words they use to describe how they feel.
"She shut her eyes, piecing her splintered coconsciousness together."
Without the words, I'm tired, I'm broken, I'm upset; you know how this person feels. It feels so much more real, this feels like something I as the reader have felt.
This narration has both opened my eyes and made me rethink all third person narrations, I've read or written myself. It may not be a unique thing itself but it's execution, it's vividness are by far both unique and superior to all other forms of it I've read
No comments:
Post a Comment