kippurbird: (._.; ... Yeah..)
[personal profile] kippurbird
A secondary edit to the previous Maximum Ride post.

Patterson broke the book's conceit.

At the very beginning we were told that this is Max and the flock's story about the School and all that fun wacky shit. As they are the ones telling us their story - or as Max is the one telling us their story - it makes sense that it's told in first person. When we shift point of view, the book should keep to the first person style. As if each member of the flock is telling the reader about their own experiences. Yet, the book doesn't.

When we go to Angel's point of view, we leave first person and go into third. In fact, skimming ahead, it seems like whenever we leave Max's point of view we go into third.

Why?

There's no reason for this. It would be more conducive to character- reader involvement -of which we have very little of - if it were written in first person. Is Patterson completely unable to write in the Point of View of a little girl?

Now, I have no problems with books switching from first to third to first etc point of views. I find it annoying, but that's fine. It's the author's choice. I can see why you would do it. However if your conceit is a story about your and your family's time as lab rats then it would be the best to stay in first person. Unless of course, the other people think about themselves in the third person.

As none of them have started speaking in Hulk speak, then I don't believe that this is true.

This book should be told entirely in first person.

It is not.

Patterson continues to suck as an author.

Date: 2011-03-17 09:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rurounitriv.livejournal.com
Okay, I have to put my editor's hat on here. You wrote: Is Patterson completely unable to write in the Point of View of a little girl?

It should be: Is Patterson completely unable to write?

XD

Date: 2011-03-18 12:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dove-cg.livejournal.com
I think he did it out of laziness. Why write a distinctive personality, so that your readers can notice the difference on their own between different first person narrators, when you can use first person and third person to make a distinction?

If I'm giving him more credit, I would say the reason it's in third person is because Max didn't experience the events that Angel did, she was merely told what happened later and as such is relating everything in third person. But in that instance it should feel distinctly as if Max were telling what happened and not as if an impersonal narrator were doing so. :I

But yeah, I agree, he continues to suck as an author. u.u

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