Have you ever been in this situation? You're reading a piece of dialogue in a novel, and you suddenly ask yourself, "Which one said this?" You have to go back, sometimes a page or so, till you can say, "OK, John said this" and then you have to go forward, noting "this is Mary - this is John - this is Mary" etc, till you get to the bit that puzzled you, If novelists haven't got the skill to make it obvious who's talking, either through characterisation or through the plot, they should put in "said John" and "said Mary" often enough to signpost the reader.
2006-10-07 17:05:33 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I hate it when that happens.
It's weird how you sometimes get the characters back to front.
Suddenly it doesn't make sense, and you think why are they saying that.
Only happens with books that don't grip you though.
Maybe it's boredom with the story and characters?
2006-10-08 01:33:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is supremely annoying. Sometimes I think it's due to my not paying close enough attention, but more often it comes from poor writing/construction.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" comes to mind: practically the entire story is unattributed dialogue, but it's superb.
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~conreys/101files/Otherfolders/Hillslikewhitepg.html
2006-10-08 07:31:04 · answer #2 · answered by maureen g 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to assimilate character other wise the book would never end... Said me - that was me speaking, the son of my mother, the grandson her mom.
Oh, i ant got time for this.
2006-10-07 17:12:23 · answer #3 · answered by TLC 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Leave the reading to adults and go back to your comics, mate. Lots of pictures for ya! (said me). hahaha
2006-10-07 18:00:27 · answer #4 · answered by DeeDee 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I know exactly what you're talking about and I do think it's a flaw in the writing.....
2006-10-07 17:13:55 · answer #5 · answered by jillbryant 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋