What do you think about the way that the story is being told?

Use this forum to discuss the January 2021 Book of the month, "The Vanished" by Pejay Bradley
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María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
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Re: What do you think about the way that the story is being told?

Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

Brownbrit wrote: 01 Feb 2021, 14:18 @L@Lunastella I completely agree with you - "I don't love it. I would've liked much more alternating first person points of views. The distancing doesn't work for me and, at some point, Lady Sougyon's point of view simply disappears." I think a the distancing is due to the passive tense of the language. She needs to use active language. To be honest, I didn't even notice the book was in Lady Sougyon's voice until I read this message board. The character development was very weak.
I agree. The book is much more focused on presenting historical circumstances, political ideas, and actions than on character development. I think it could be a conscious stylistic decision from the author; although I enjoy more character-driven stories.
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Post by Dimi1 »

The book is not character-focused; however, I don't think it was supposed to be character focused. I consider that the idea was to provide a flow from a distanced angle and this is what it loyally serves. Therefore I think that the story is being told so as for the reader to get attracted by the flow rather than the characters.
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Post by ReaderAisha2020 »

I found it interesting that the story was being told through the perspective of one character. I felt this made her son the main character and have him more importance
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Post by Goral »

The different perspectives through which the story is told definitely makes it more interesting and understandable. Knowing different characters' opinions made it easier for me to relate with them.
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Post by Iris Marsh »

It depends on the story whether or not I like to have multiple narrators/viewpoints. But I think with this type of book it is interesting to get a wider range of perspectives and viewpoints, as it gives a more thorough picture of the history.
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Post by Gabby S14 »

I was surprised at how much I liked the narrator's voice. It was very wholesome, especially when describing her son, and yet it was a sober voice that regaled history and society. The only thing that made me upset about having the mother narrate the story was that it seemed like she fell away at the end, almost like Embon was ignoring her. Even though he was overseas and trying to stay hidden, I wished that he would contact his mother again, who provided so much for him. Although, when I wondered how she could have known all the things she does about Embon, like his brief crush or his time in prison, then it makes me think that the author is hinting at events that happen after the story. Mainly, I think this could be meant to signify that Embon does live to see his mother again, and he tells her of everything that has happened in his life. In this sense, I think the narrative style is brilliant!
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Post by zulfiyya »

I thought the way the story was told was perfect. There were many characters and each one had a purpose: to depict the mindset of Korean citizens and the pressure of Korean society in that time period. I thought the narration from Lady Sygone was important because she showed how even for the highest classes, the annexation of Korea was a heartbreaking and terrible time for everyone in the country. I do wish we could have seen the first-person narration from one of the other characters too, but it might be too messy and hard to follow then.
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Post by mlh6fn »

I typically like stories with multiple perspectives, but they also run the risk of losing character development and losing my investment in the story if it's not done well. The switch between first perspective for one character and third for the rest threw me off, and having so many characters to read from sometimes felt like it diluted the story.
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Post by WADonnelly »

I like this form of storytelling as it keeps you from becoming bored with one perspective. And often you cannot learn everything with one person's view.
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Post by Mutai Marshal »

Honestly, I was a bit confused by how the author shifted at times from the first-person perspective to the third-person point of view. Both are amazing ways to tell the story; only that I'd prefer an entire chapter narrating from the first-person/third-person for consistency
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Post by SunVixen »

Julehart1 wrote: 12 Jan 2021, 02:40 I don’t always love this style of writing, but in this book it makes sense to tell this story from multiple perspectives. There are many characters in the book, and it does widen the scope. I was glad to be able to see the views of the other characters even when they were narrating in third-person.
I don't know why, but I like reading books written in third person. They are easier to read. Of course, this is just my personal preference.
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Post by cjl1995 »

I enjoy reading books where the perspective changes to different characters in each chapter. But the way The Vanished Is written is sort of confusing. With only the mother in the first person while all the other characters are in the third. Sometimes it will jump in the middle of a paragraph from Embon to his mother which is sort of disorienting. I would sometimes have to reread parts to figure out which character it was.
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Post by Kennedy NC »

It certainly makes the book more interesting to be listening to the story being told from various people's perspective.
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Post by dianaterrado »

I actually enjoy it better when a book is told from different character POVs. I think it makes me understand the world in a broader sense. And it highlights all the characters in a way that makes it possible for readers to empathize with them.
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Post by jaym_tan »

I enjoyed the switch between narrations, it is great to get the perspective of the other characters instead of just one.
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