First person character interacting directly with the reader.

[Scott R. Forshaw]

I've often wondered if this would work or, purely out of interest, if it has ever been done at all. I can't think of anything off hand, but would be interested to know if anyone else has stumbled across it, and if they have, what did they make of it?

What I'm trying to say is this, for example:


Ah, so you managed to find me then? Well, don't just stand out there in the cold, you'll catch your death, child. Come in, come in. Take a seat over by the fire and make yourself comfortable. There's blankets if you need them, and sherry on the table, if you should so desire. Cup of cocoa? No? Well suit yourself, dear, you can't say I didn't offer.

Well, I can only imagine you're here for one reason, and I've never been one to turn away the needy. I'll tell you all you need to know, but first of all there are certain things you must know. This world isn't for the faint of heart. It's a wild and wretched place, filled with all of the things that turn dreams to nightmares, with creatures which thrive in the night-time and prey on the weak. There are demons and werewolves, gargoyles and vampires, and many more besides, all of them keen to strip a man of his flesh, and offer his soul to the darkness.

So, child, now we've got the pleasantries out of the way, and you're sitting quite comfortably, then I shall begin.

It all happened long ago, when the world was nothing more than a mere child, itself. In a time when Gods and monsters bent humanity to their will, and killed on a whim. Suffering and pain was a thing to be expected back then, and my life was certainly no different. I was a wee snip of a thing in those days....


So, you can see what I'm getting at, then? Has it been done? And does/would it work? Or would it simply become far too tedious and boring over the course of an entire book? I, personally, have never tried it, (if you discount the above nonsense, of course), and I'm not sure I ever would, but I'd certainly like to know other people's take on it. So what's your view, folks?

 

[Ursa major]

I'm sure I've seen this sort of thing before, in much older fiction (possibly aimed at younger readers). It fits in far better with the third person omniscient style, with the narrator being a character in the book, though not necessarily in the story.

Off the top of my head, I can think of one example (although here the narrator plays a big part in the story) which contains the sentence: Reader, I married him.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I can think of a few books where the first person narrator addresses the reader -- books that did rather well.

For instance, the ones beginning:

"Call me Ishmael"

and

"You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter."

and a more recent work

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

 

[Dante DiBenedetto]

It was common enough way back when, especially in short fiction.

Although I like it, I can see you getting criticisms for it being a "lazy man's" style of storytelling. I've seen, and done storytelling within stories before, but never attempted a full piece like that.

 

[Grinnel]

I have seen this style used occasionally in Dragon Magazine in the '80's. Your intro gave me an idea-write the story from a double first person perspective (or more boring-first and third person).

For example:
"I was a wee snip of a thing in those days" when I first set eyes on The Ranger. He seemed a giant to me then, standing there with orc's blood dripping from a blade bigger'n me...

Chapter One

For the third time that day I had to clean the the remains of an orc off of Grymdale. Three times this close to a settlement was too much. Something was very wrong...

In between chapters the storyteller in italics can fill in the narrative blanks that are missed in the first person story "back then, nobody heard tell of the Grey Wizards or the Black Castle, but you can bet they heard of The Ranger..."

 

[Kreil]

The overwhelmingi example for me is Zork, especially Zork: Grand Inquisitor. Obviously as a game it's a bit different as the lamp guides the player, etc, but it works brilliantly. I'd love to read that done well in a novel.

 

[Galacticdefender]

Any more than maybe a few lines just seems like a huge break in the 4th wall to me. It would irritate me.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

I have to agree with Galactic in that it would simply be breaking the fourth wall. That can be done, and has, but it's always meant to be in a very cheap comedic effect, and usually in the video game industry. It can be successful, but like in all things, moderation. And it has to be extremely well moderated, harder to control in novels than visual medium.

 

[Abernovo]

The circumstances which I am about to relate to my juvenile readers took place in the year 1647

The first line of Captain Marryat's The Children of the New Forest. Admittedly a children's book by intention, but the closest book of that era I had to hand.

It's a device used a lot in the past, especially as an introduction. Is it time for a return? Well, it wouldn't automatically stop me from reading - I like the style of some of these books, with richer narration and description. Would using it to narrate the whole story? That I'm not so sure about. I've seen it used periodically through books - 'then, gentle reader' and so on.

I suppose you can always try, even if only as an experiment. You can always edit the narrative if you need to.

 

[kshRox]

I believe Zelazny did this with both his Corwyn character from Amber and his Sam (Mahasamahtman) character from Lord of Light.

 

[Mouse]

Jane Eyre, like Ursa says. But for recent ones I can think of two straight away: The Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud - Bartimaeus talks to the reader throughout. Also, I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan. Again, Lucifer talks to the reader throughout.

Now I'm off again.

 

[Boneman]

The first line of Captain Marryat's The Children of the New Forest. Admittedly a children's book by intention, but the closest book of that era I had to hand.

OH!!!!!!! My great-great-great-grandaddy mentioned in the Chrons!!! His daughter, Florence Marryat, wrote some really shocking (for the time) Vampire stories, which had all sorts of issues that had not been seen in polite literature.

I quite like being addressed by the writer; certainly the example you've given, Scott, is attractive, and I'd like to see more, to see if it could sustain itself over a whole book. When will you finish it?

 

[alchemist]

I have no problem with what you posted, Scott, but as others said, it has to be in moderation. I think using it at the start of some (not all) chapters is the most I could handle before being taken out of the story, wondering if I'm meant to be playing the part of a child.

 

[allmywires]

I wrote something similar (a long time ago) for the prologue of my book. I don't think I'd like it as the overriding theme of the novel, but if it was just in small bits (a prologue/interludes) then I think it could work.

 

[Darth Angelus]

I think this is an old literary trick, as has already been mentioned, used in various genres.

I can't say I have seen it much, particularly not in speculative fiction, but I guess it could be used in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, I am not really an expert on this, and cannot say how and when it will and will not work. In general, I would say it is best to have some explanation as to why the character in question would be aware or the reader, although this might not be strictly necessary.
In any case, you are, in a sense, blurring the line between the fictional world and ours, and that may be risky in the Fantasy genre.

 

[The Judge]

I believe Zelazny did this with ... his Sam (Mahasamahtman) character from Lord of Light.

No, I don't think so. It's written in third thoughout, save for the very last pages, although there is a hint of a story-teller from time to time (eg a "Now..." beginning a section). There is only one "I" that I can recall outside of dialogue, in the very last page "One may, I daresay, select whichever version suits his fancy" and also a "But look around you..." a few lines further down, plus the use of the present tense, but that's about it, I think, and it's not Sam himself talking then.

I may be missing the point of the opening post, but to me that extract isn't talking to the reader -- the narrator is talking to a person who is in the room with him, which certainly isn't me. I enjoyed it, but I didn't feel the narrator was addressing me in the way that Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield are doing in Teresa's quotes -- simply because there is too much interaction in that first paragraph.

It's been a while since I read it, and I may be mis-remembering, but John Lanchester's The Debt to Pleasure has a first person narrator who effectively addresses the reader, even if not directly. Not sure if that makes sense... That is he's specifically writing for someone to read it, as it's a kind of cook book, and he creates a conspiracy between him and the reader with eg lines like "which of us has not..." A very clever book, anyway, and worth a read even if it isn't quite what you want.

 

[Toby Frost]

Well, there's A Clockwork Orange, in which the narrator frequently addresses the readers, but given the amount of artifice in the story, it's only one trick of many. And the Just So Stories, although again it fits with the slightly artificial style.

I think it would be wearying in a longer novel, but as a framing device it could work, although it would run the risk of seeming a little twee.