Quote:
Originally Posted by Victoria
[...] Gmw Thank you - I learn a lot about the craft of writing from your comments. I’ve been pondering what you said earlier about first person narratives being very difficult, because they must tell rather than show, and can come off as self-obsessed. I think that’s very true. [...]
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Oh dear. I fear that your knowledge of my background has influenced how you interpret my comments.
(Sorry, it seemed like an opportunity too good to resist.)
But on this subject,
Bookpossum earlier noted similarities between
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and this one - alluding to abusive relationships and the use of a woman's diary. The similarity I had noticed was the use of first-person perspective and cost of that choice: both books had to cheat via the introduction of a diary (that doesn't read like any diary I know) in order to provide a separate perspective.
Once you become aware of this sort of stuff you start to notice it a lot. Greene had sufficient experience that I am sure he knew what he was facing when he started, so I'm not really criticising the choice in this instance, but we see so much first person narrative these days that I find this sort of cheat stands out to me.