tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post1165495655616347156..comments2024-03-21T07:37:30.475-04:00Comments on Light reading: The moving toyshop of the heartJenny Davidsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295436498255927522noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-957532346692573102007-08-09T18:23:00.000-04:002007-08-09T18:23:00.000-04:00I'm late to this post. But, wow, I couldn't disagr...I'm late to this post. But, wow, I couldn't disagree more strongly. I loved her use of omniscient. Thought it was brilliantly deployed and would not have enjoyed the book written any other way. <BR/><BR/>How do you deal with Heyer's frequent pov shifts?<BR/><BR/>Justine LAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-68719594878763680752007-06-17T20:56:00.000-04:002007-06-17T20:56:00.000-04:00I don't have copies of Pullman here or I'd check, ...I don't have copies of Pullman here or I'd check, but yes, in memory I'd say that his shifts happen between segments--I'm talking here strictly about shifts within a single scene, that's where I'm not convinced it's worth it. "The Subtle Knife" hews much more closely to Will's perspective, I believe, than the other two do to Lyra's, and "The Amber Spyglass" in particular opens out to multiple perspectives (like the Jesuit assassin), but surely mostly in separate sections?Jenny Davidsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295436498255927522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-31802369593893140652007-06-17T15:18:00.000-04:002007-06-17T15:18:00.000-04:00"Martha watched with interest while these events u..."Martha watched with interest while these events unfolded"? Perhaps I am too impatient.<BR/><BR/>Pullman's shifts take place from segment to segment and scene to scene, don't they? not usually within one scene. From what I remember. (Also, in the last two books, the vast number of scenes requires multiple narrators, so we get used to the multiple POVs anyway.)Jessie Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01557650827745221683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-57474780189575055032007-06-16T00:54:00.000-04:002007-06-16T00:54:00.000-04:00I think S. has an interesting point, again about e...I think S. has an interesting point, again about expectations. A good novel <I>teaches</I> us from the outset how to read it.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-67972744442063347502007-06-15T19:05:00.000-04:002007-06-15T19:05:00.000-04:00Oh, yes, it is SUCH an enjoyable read, isn't it? ...Oh, yes, it is SUCH an enjoyable read, isn't it? I really did love it--I am afraid the amount of space it took to explain the POV question disproportionately may leave the impression that I did not...Jenny Davidsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295436498255927522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-25537252735422971562007-06-15T19:01:00.000-04:002007-06-15T19:01:00.000-04:00I read this just a little before you did, and I wa...I read this just a little before you did, and I wasn't so bothered by the flitting point of view, maybe because it flitted throughout so I never expected that it would settle. I find it much more jarring when a novel that has hewed mostly to one perspective moves briefly to another, howevermuch that shift may otherwise seem desireable.<BR/><BR/>I also very much enjoyed reading the book, and it is quibblilng, but the one quibble I did have with it was the over-serendipity of Pope's all-perceiving eye. <BR/><BR/>But it evoked an historic period without being heavy or precious, and the it was wonderful to watch these characters caught in their own delusions, tripping along.S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06957943262402999997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-34240948852960659242007-06-15T17:53:00.000-04:002007-06-15T17:53:00.000-04:00No, because I am so entranced by everything about ...No, because I am so entranced by everything about those novels that I don't care! However I haven't reread them since I've been obsessed with this, so I will have to look out the next time and see if it distracts me.Jenny Davidsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295436498255927522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-45993853865102603642007-06-15T17:51:00.000-04:002007-06-15T17:51:00.000-04:00Since the passage you quoted is taken out of conte...Since the passage you quoted is taken out of context, it's hard for me to judge, but the shift appears to be clumsy, which brings me to my point: it all depends for what purpose and how (and how well) such a shift is achieved. However, I will emphasise that I consider this whole question to be a matter of the narrative conventions we've been trained to expect. In fact, it's much easier technically for a writer to remain with one POV than not. <BR/><BR/>Since you mention Pullman, he's very fond of such shifts. Do they bother you in HDM?Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.com