The traumatic scene takes place on page 162, the close of chapter 12, in a book of 358 pages and 30 chapters.
Here is what is noteworthy: not long before the moment of tension and climax between them occurs, Harris takes us into the heads of both of them, each in turn, and we learn keys pieces of their backgrounds, their desires and hopes. Check: are all of your characters needed for your story? for “their” story?) But in this case, one is the murdered character, and the other is the murderer. (All the characters are necessary to this story, as they should be. There are two particular characters to note here-pivotal characters. Especially with the sheer length of a novel. I think we do this as we read-this releasing.
When do you let readers know certain things? The thinking is “as/when they need to know.” It’s compelling to want to share with readers off the top, but for how long will they remember what you/narrator have shared with them? Wait too long, and the knowledge will have disappeared as their mental images are filled and released. And to learn from a book, it must be read a second time. When a book is well-written the experience is in the read-even when you think you know what is going to happen. Know that in the following there are so-called spoilers! But we are doing this as working writers willing to dissect to learn. There are a number of elements he handles so well here, and I have to note them. Nathan Harris is a young man living in Austin TX, one of my favourite cities, a place filled with working artists. But it’s a story with the word “hope” in the closing line.
It is set in the south, with a real mix of characters, of people aware and trying to make a difference, and others who just want old ways to stay, and are willing to do horrific acts to make that happen. The story is set post-civil war, with freedmen trying to go about reforming their lives. I must say Obama’s list is usually so generic that it hurts.) (It’s both an Oprah pick as well as Obama-but is surely more than “best-seller” material. I find it fascinating to discuss a book with a book club group in which there are no writers, only readers.Īlthough everyone in the group appreciated this read, when we first began to discuss, there were words about sentences that weren’t whole and vocabulary that had to be looked up (“Does anyone speak like this?”) I know I tend to write in fragments, so this first comment made me pause.īut this is altogether a resonant first novel.
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