Omni present being as narrator

[Rjalex]

I decided that my logical brain won’t let me write freely in third person without inventing an omnipresent being. This being must be strictly limited by a logic system that allows them to dip into certain characters heads. Writing in this way, I am thinking, will make it easier to develop a distinctive voice. I can come up with a personality for this being. Perhaps I will even have this being talk in first person occasionally; if, for example their memory is not clear on something. Has any done this. I’m sure I’ve read something like this

 

[Yozh]

Amy Tan does something similar in Saving Fish from Drowning; the story is narrated by a deceased character who has a strong voice and opinions about what everyone else is doing.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I think one of the best examples of this is with 'The Guide' narrating Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

 

[THX1138]

Or even the narrator from Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'

 

[Swank]

I do it all the time. I'm the omnipresent narrator, and I speak in some version of my voice.

 

[HareBrain]

The narrator of Robert VS Reddick's Chathrand Voyage quartet (starting with The Red Wolf Conspiracy) turns out to be a sentient rat who is also one of the characters, and does what you describe: the story is him writing it down long afterwards (in third person, moving between POV characters, but with some personal asides). Even if your narrator isn't one of the cast, it might be worth a look.

I say "turns out to be" because I'm not sure it's made at all clear until maybe the second book. It's about ten years since I read them and my memory is a bit hazy.

 

[Rjalex]

Thanks everyone for these examples