This week has been a rather interesting as far as us of point of view in the narration. Oscar Wao continues to pose questions about who was really the narrator, and how they know what they know. Wat it Yunior, reading diaries and letters and things to tell the story of a family that was not his? Or was it, somehow Oscar’s lost novel?

I don’t know and I kind of love that.

I also have no idea how to interpret the narration, or lack there of, in 35 Shots of Rum. I feel like the most compelling line of narration for me is that of the daughter. She’s strong, yet quiet, and seems to make smart, accurate judgments of the people around her. I think it’s a really interesting option, and yet the father is the main character. But to me he’s something of an enigma. I can’t really figure anything out about him and I also love that.

There’s something really interesting about seeing or reading a piece where the narration is vague or up to the reader to interpret. I think playing with who your narrator might be, what their biases might be, how they know what they know, is a great way to put questions in for your audience. I think it’s important that the best books leave us with more questions than answers, new ideas and thoughts, rather than perfect (boring) understanding and satisfaction.

But of course there has to be somethings resolved, or else the reader gets no satisfaction which begs the question, why are they reading/watching it in the first place? Why have they stuck with it?

So where’s the balance? I’m still trying to figure out how to play with my extremely biased and complex narrator. The narration can be how we step into someone’s head space. This is also what I loved about Sebald, because we walk away with so many questions, unsure of the difference between author and character. I think that I’m going to try to play with that, drop the reader so deeply into the narrative that it’s hard to tell if it’s real or fake.

I think these questions that the works this week raised for me are so interesting and important to creating a compelling work. I’m definitely inspired by them, but still looking for where and how to fit these ideas into my own work.