Perspectives and Order

 


I think that if I were to write a book like Shamsie did I would have to include sections with different perspectives. When telling a story with so many people involved, the stories intertwine in a way where the whole does not equal a sum of its parts. Each story exists separately, yet at the same time they can’t stand alone. That is why the different sections are included, probably to be able to tell the story as a whole. While an omniscient third person narrator who covers all might have been sufficient, it would not have been complete. As for the order, that is something I cannot decide on. I do not really even have any idea. To me, an untrained 18 year old, they seem almost random. Even the segments within the characters’ sections seem random. The only idea I had was that the order influenced the importance of the stories, although this seems very wrong as I think Parvaiz’s story seems the most influential and it is not the first. Maybe it is in increasing levels of crazy (from strict Isma to Eamonn to Parvaiz), or decreasing levels of detail. Or maybe it is quite simple, being that the depth of the story and how far back it goes increases with each section. I really have no idea which one has more validity than the other, or even if I am in the ballpark. I really think I need to read the rest of the book to have a more solidified sense of the logic surrounding the order.


Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 2, 2021 at 6:59 PM

    I too think that Parvaiz's section is extremely hectic both in content and in structure. I remember at the end of the section, Shamsie begins to change the time of the story from paragraph to paragraph while the content of each discusses things such as beheadings and bombings. Perhaps this is Shamsie pushing the story to a climactic point.

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  2. Bailey BlackOctober 2, 2021 at 8:25 PM

    I feel like since Parvaiz's story is essentially the climax of the novel, putting him first would have felt too discombobulating. His story is so crazy, like you said, that having it right at the beginning would have disturbed some of the natural pacing of the novel.

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  3. Nick PecoraOctober 3, 2021 at 9:03 PM

    I agree that it's super hard to find a single reason for the order of the sections, but I love the theory of the sections being arranged in a way that shows "increasing levels of crazy." I didn't notice this while reading but now that I hear that idea it's hard to disagree.

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  4. Avery PiersonOctober 3, 2021 at 9:16 PM

    I am also having trouble coming up with a reason for the order of the perspectives. When I was reading, I was surprised to see that Parvaiz's section was third; I was totally expecting it to be Aneeka! I really like your ideas about the increasing levels of crazy or decreasing levels of deatail- very insightful :)

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  5. Bella BurleighOctober 3, 2021 at 10:25 PM

    I really resonate with not being able to come up with a definite answer on why it is in the order that it is, but I think you are onto something with the ideas you had about it! I honestly think the idea about increasing levels of crazy makes sense, as each perspective seems to be taking riskier steps and adds on more important crazy details to the overarching story.

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  6. KrisOctober 3, 2021 at 10:42 PM

    Certainly agree that finishing the book will be integral to definitively saying what the significance of the order is, but I am of the opinion that each section thus far feels incomplete because they each end on cliffhangers, which implies that the last chapter will tie together each characters' story. To this end, the order of the sections before that chapter could be arbitrary, or organized in a way to promote, or prevent, cohesion.

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  7. Michelle BOctober 5, 2021 at 1:44 PM

    Looking forward to what all of you thought about the shift in style and tone and structure in the Aneeka section!

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