Narration in Books - does it work?

[Meg the Healer]

I've been thinking about my current project and part of me wants to change the beginning and part of me wants to leave the damn thing alone for a change.

Anyway, I know that in movies and certain RPG games - there can be a narrator telling the story and it's easy to know who's talking because you can visually and audibly see/hear the change. Aside from The Princess Bride, I don't know of many books that do this, without it being like a diary entry or something.

I was wondering if done properly - if it could work? Have one of the "characters" tell the story of your hero/heroine instead of first person or limited third person. I know you can do a multiple POV third person - but it can get tricky as people have pointed out to me because there's no clear delination of voice and it looks like it can "jump" around.

So do you think narration can work - if done properly? Or should that stay with the movies/games? Can you tell me of any books that you've read where it does work? I may just not have read as many books as I've thought.

 

[Ophiucha]

The classic example of that, I would think, is Homer's Odyssey, most of which is told by Odysseus to the people housing him at the time. Although that is about himself. You can certainly have a narrator who is a character in the story, though. A non-fantasy example of that, perhaps: Heart of Darkness. They are waiting to be able to get their boat out of the dock, and one of the characters (not the viewpoint character, though) just tells the whole story to them until the sun rises.

 

[Telcontar]

Of course it works! It's been done in many successful books.

I think it works best when the narrator is made a character in his own right, though. Who wants the extra voice in the story when it isn't worth hearing? Most of my favorite 'narrated' novels use a very humorous tone for the narrator. I can't think of a story that doesn't have a worthwhile narrator voice (provided it has a narrator), but that is likely a symptom of its uselessness to the storytelling.

 

[Ravana]

Roger Zelazny: Chronicles of Amber, et several al.
Steven Brust: Taltos series
Glen Cook: Black Company series (where it's very overt: the books are supposed to be the Company's Annals)

…all come to mind immediately. Or, if you're looking for more pedigreed examples:

Herman Melville: Moby-Dick ("Call me Ishmael…")
James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Marcel Proust: A la recherche du temps perdu (which you will find as either Remembrance of Things Past or In Search of Lost Time, depending on which translation you encounter… and assuming you really desire the encounter.…)

 

[Mdnight Falling]

It can work. And there are several books that if you give me the time to contact my mom for a list of the books I left behind, I can name off at least 20 I have that are told by a narrator. They're some of my favorites LOL But like I always say, listen to your heart in all important matters. You won't be happy with the work otherwise... I know from experience >.< If you feel it should be a narrated tale, then make it so and make the best told story ever! >^.^< I know I'll want a copy when it's published

 

[kjjcarpenter]

I know you can do a multiple POV third person - but it can get tricky as people have pointed out to me because there's no clear delination of voice and it looks like it can "jump" around.

Why do you say this? The narrator can become a character onto themselves if written with integrity. This doesn't mean having to ever specifically show this character or reveal any history about them, but they can still have a personality and little quirks that make them unique.

 

[Mdnight Falling]

I completely agree kjj the narrator can be a special addition to the characters if it's done right... I think I'm going to try to write a short story like that at some point >^.^<

 

[kjjcarpenter]

Go for it! However, try not to focus too much on the narrator's point of view. Remember, too much ice-cream makes your stomach sick.
On an early draft of my first book, there was far too much cutaway when the narrator would specifically detail something to the readers, or give an opinion. My publisher basically said, cut it down. Haha! Best of luck.

 

[Kate]

This is killing me at the moment. I have this omniscient narrator who always comes out in present tense. The narrator is just a voice, not actually a character in the story. And then I keep switching to a 3rd person limited narration from the POV of actual characters. I didn't plan it this way, it's just how it came out when I sat down to write. I have no idea if it is working, but because it's frustrating me so much, I think it might not be.......

 

[Ravana]

I'd have to see it to be sure, since I'm having trouble envisioning what you mean, but I'd guess that if the voices keep slipping your control, then no, it's probably not working.

 

[Kate]

After a long editing session today, I think I've managed to do away with this mysterious, anonymous narrator. No, it wasn't working and the tense shifts made for some very uncomfortable reading.

My WIP is a multi-character, mutli-storyline "novel". If anyone's read The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, it's similar narrative style to that. I'm finding it tricky to keep to distinct narrative voices for each section. And I know that, if the idea is going to work, that distinction needs to be crystal clear.

The city where everything takes place is in a way a character, and an important one. Has anyone ever come across a narrative voice from a place, rather than a person?

 

[Ravana]

Arguably, Gormenghast, from the Mervyn Peake novel of that name. The place doesn't "narrate," but it is clearly the central "character," and to call it the overriding fact in the lives of its inhabitants is to render a gross understatement.

As for multiple POV… eh. Most people I've seen use it don't give their characters particularly distinct voices–or, at any rate, the author's voice so dominates them all that one could hardly mistake them for voices coming from different sources. (A problem I often face myself… nor can I claim much success in overcoming it. ) Which might not even be worth mentioning, except that I have seen at least one book where you could make that mistake: Freedom and Necessity, by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. Yes, it's easier to have the voices sound more like they're coming from different people when there is more than one person writing them… but in this case, there are four main characters, each of which is sufficiently distinct that you'd never confuse any of them, and I honestly can't tell you how the authors split up the writing tasks. (My guess would be that each wrote two of them, but I could easily be wrong… particularly since if I have the split correct, each wrote one of the male and one of the female characters. Seems just as likely they co-wrote the entirety. Maybe some day I'll try to find out. Or maybe I'll just preserve the mystery.)

At any rate, the problem is either lessened if all the PsOV are in third person, or else exacerbated if they're in first, depending on how you look at things. If you're in first, it's far less plausible for them to all sound alike once you start dealing with internal dialogue… which in third person you may not present at all.

 

[Kate]

Arguably, Gormenghast, from the Mervyn Peake novel of that name. The place doesn't "narrate," but it is clearly the central "character," and to call it the overriding fact in the lives of its inhabitants is to render a gross understatement.

Thanks for that. Gormenghast has been on my to read list for a long time. Knowing this has just moved it to the top of the pile.

I think you're right about the differences in voices. Difficulty separating authorial voice from character voice seems to be one of the trickiest parts of creative writing.