WISH WEEK DAY SIX DUAL NARRATIVE
Posted on July 20, 2012
Below is part of the review a reader from Germany posted about IRVING.
"5 stars for the idea. I like books, i like books about books. I would like to write myself. And a book about writing a book and experiencing the writing process from a characters POV. I love you, Mr. Clopper...."
It made my day. I was nervous how the author sections of the book would be received. You see, IRVING's narrative format is unique. Each chapter starts with a scene of Irving's author brainstorming or writing parts of Irving's book, distinguished by being in italics. The bulk of the chapter is then given over to Irving's story at the Questing Academy. What the writer does, influences Irving and creates both obstacles and opportunities for him. In addition, it does what this reader points out, it depicts the ins and outs of writing a novel and shows how the narrative can take the writer in directions they never originally intended. It portrays the writing process as a living thing, something I am keenly aware of.
The dual narrative is one of the cool selling points to this novel, and I was glad to see that it's being appreciated and valued.
Wish Week spills over into next week with some memorable one liners from the book on Monday and some wickedly bizarre faux reviews on Tuesday.