3. Narration ‘After growing wings through indiscretion, Hajiya Binta, contrary to her expectations, did not transform into an eagle, but an owl that thrives in the darkness in which she and Reza communed. Yet, during the day she was caged by her fears, wrapped into the perceived miasma of her sins.’
That is one of my favorite excerpts from Season of Crimson Blossoms (p. 47), a brilliant art of literature narrative.
In literature, most readers seek narratives that are simple but most importantly, convey meaning and depth- personally, the deeper the depth, the better. Its 'important to understand that the object of fiction isn’t grammatical correctness but to make the reader feel welcomed and then tell a story. The author of Born on a Tuesday achieves that as he beautifully worked a simple and comprehensive narrative structure relevant to the theme, setting and characters- especially with the narrator Dantala, a boy whose prowess in English and western education is wanting. When Stephen King said ‘writing is about seduction, not precision’, he meant authors should write stories that readers will forget they are even reading a story as they will be totally absorbed in it. These books achieved that. 5. Description The best description is when it begins with the writer and finishes in the reader's imagination. This means the reader will comprehend exactly what the writer is describing, and probably understands the object being described better. The descriptions in Season of Crimson Blossoms are excellently achieved that. Here’s one of my favorite;
‘... the stream of ganja fumes reached up to the bare rafters, where some of the youth had taken to stowing their personal effects; snakeskin amulets procured from shifty marabout promising protection from the evil eye, bundles of medicinal bark reputed to cure ninety-nine acquired from itinerant vendors who cavorted with live crocodiles and displayed photos of people with disease ravaged genitalia; and sometimes, stashed of cash carefully wrapped in plastic bags.’ (p87) The above description is superb as it comes with the power to instill a vivid familiarity in the mind of the readers. Also, the author made sure we are all familiar with every character and event in book by giving us their bios even if he or she or it was mentioned once in the whole story. This not only makes readers get familiar with the characters, but also made their actions believable.
6. Conflicts and Resolution
I love stories with complicated individual conflict that are in one way or the other related to the major theme.
to be continued....