Velka
Sage
I think using a storyteller can be a powerful tool, if used correctly. A storyteller can give the tale a sense of urgency from the beginning, as the reader will ask why do they feel it is important to tell this story right now. It can also bring subtlety and uncertainty into play as the storyteller needs to rely on memory, and are telling it through the lens of hindsight. It can also make the reader ask if the storyteller is being honest about the events, either due to the failings of memory, the desire to change what 'actually' happened so they are seen in a different light, or the bias of which they experienced the events.
It can also give the writer more room to play with chronology, as memories rarely happen in a perfect sequence. A storyteller can act as a glue that holds events, either separated by time or distance, together.
Heart of Darkness is one of my favourite examples of post-modern storytelling (followed closely by The Great Gatsby). Three unreliable narrators, all searching for their own understanding of "the truth", and even though Marlow tells the story again and again, he never gets any closer to it.
The Usual Suspects is another great use of a storyteller. How Verbal uses story to twist events and hide his identity is truly amazing. Also, a great example of using a storyteller to shake-up traditional chronology.
The Princess Bride uses a storyteller in an equally masterful way. Sometimes drawing attention to a storyteller you can break immersion, and create distance between the audience and the story, but the grandfather's comments and conversation with his grandson only enhance the fairy tale qualities of the story.
I've also been thinking about giving Name of the Wind another chance, reading it with a more keen eye as to how Kvothe acts as the storyteller when he talks about his past. I read it yeeeeaaaars ago, and while I found it enjoyable, but long-winded and a bit absurd in parts, I'm thinking that seeing it as an exercise in creating one's history, and telling it with years of life and reflection between the events and the telling, I may enjoy it in a different way.
It can also give the writer more room to play with chronology, as memories rarely happen in a perfect sequence. A storyteller can act as a glue that holds events, either separated by time or distance, together.
Heart of Darkness is one of my favourite examples of post-modern storytelling (followed closely by The Great Gatsby). Three unreliable narrators, all searching for their own understanding of "the truth", and even though Marlow tells the story again and again, he never gets any closer to it.
The Usual Suspects is another great use of a storyteller. How Verbal uses story to twist events and hide his identity is truly amazing. Also, a great example of using a storyteller to shake-up traditional chronology.
The Princess Bride uses a storyteller in an equally masterful way. Sometimes drawing attention to a storyteller you can break immersion, and create distance between the audience and the story, but the grandfather's comments and conversation with his grandson only enhance the fairy tale qualities of the story.
I've also been thinking about giving Name of the Wind another chance, reading it with a more keen eye as to how Kvothe acts as the storyteller when he talks about his past. I read it yeeeeaaaars ago, and while I found it enjoyable, but long-winded and a bit absurd in parts, I'm thinking that seeing it as an exercise in creating one's history, and telling it with years of life and reflection between the events and the telling, I may enjoy it in a different way.