In my review for The Tenant of Wildfell Hall the other week,
I mentioned that I’d be doing a post on books with layered perspectives. Just
before we get started, I wanted to give you a quick definition of what this
means to me—in simplest terms, it’s a story within a story. This may involves
letter or diaries or whatever else, but that thing frames the novel so that the
reader sees it in a particular light. I hope that made sense…let’s get started.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
In this, Gilbert Markham is writing to his friend Halford about
the new and very mysterious woman who moved into Wildfell Hall, Helen Graham.
He and Helen become friends, and halfway through the book, Helen gives him her
diaries which Gilbert then includes for Halford/us to read. Even without this,
it’s an absolutely gorgeous story and you should all read it.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
This is about to get real confusing. Frankenstein starts with some
letters from explorer Robert Walton to his sister in England, then he saves
Victor Frankenstein and in return, Victor shares his story of the monster he
created and within that, the monster also tells Victor his story. If that’s not
confusing enough, ? is repeating this entire story to his sister. Can you say
complicated?
Atonement by Ian McEwan
This is the book that made me fall in love with this technique.
The thing about Atonement is the way this layered perspective narrative is
written makes it really difficult to guess that it is in fact, a layered
perspective. I don’t really want to share too much about this one, but the time
you reach the end, you will simultaneously love and hate Ian McEwan.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
I’m sure a lot of you are aware of this one. A grandfather
is reading the book, The Princess Bride, to his grandson so not only do we get
the story of the grandfather and his grandson but also the novel, The Princess
Bride. It’s confusing and beautiful and the movie is absolutely perfect.
So these are a few examples. I know there are a few more out
there but these are the ones that have stuck with me. Let me know if you know
of any others or if there’s a different narrative style you really like.
