This is one of the first times I've seen third person omniscient narrator work to a great effect. Sure, it creeps up a lot in fantasy and is well done enough, but this book rocked it. In the beginning the chapters alternate between the two main characters, the first dedicated to Jerry, our protagonist, second going to Archie and then swapping between the two for a while. Then when the chocolate sale begins and Jerry refuses to accept his chocolates, the reader is deprived of Jerry's P.O.V; building suspense for what motivates him to decline to carry on his preparatory school's long-standing tradition.The narration then shifts to the population of the all boys school at large, capturing the atmosphere created by Jerry's chocolate refusal, which does not bode well for the fund raising efforts. A secret society known as the Vigils attempts to persuade Jerry to sell his chocolates, to no avail. An all out war breaks loose as the sway of the Vigils is strong, leading to every other student besides Jerry to step up their chocolate game. Does Jerry succeed or is he eventually worn down and made to sell his chocolate bars? Will the Vigils continue to dominate the school?
First line of book:
"They murdered him."
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2 comments:
Then when the chocolate sale begins and Jerry refuses to accept his chocolates, the reader is deprived of Jerry's P.O.V;
This is why I'm a reader response theorist: we read exactly the same words, but while I've been focusing on things like the book's reception by audiences, you notice this literary feature that I've missed on what, four readings...
It's a really cool feature, too; something I've totally missed, but adds a lot to my understanding of the artistic end of the book.
Yeah, Rutgers English made me all about the literary/formal branch. It's really hard to turn off and quite annoying when you want to just enjoy a book as a book!
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