N... is for Narration

Narration is everything! Isn't it? Think about it, when you begin reading a book and there is a host of different characters, the author has the option of telling the story through one or many voices. This directs how the story is told, what the voice sounds like, and to a large extent even determines the tone of the novel. What could be a happy ending from the point of view of one of the characters could be a very tragic, or at the very least, a disappointing end for another.
Sometimes, multiple narrators annoy me. Wuthering Heights and My Name is Red, for example, failed me because too many people were speaking one by one and there wasn't a single point from which to approach the story. However, I make an exception for Treasure Island, what a tale! Dual narrations are good, though. Look at Gone Girl, look at Kafka on the Shore, both lovely examples of fabulous books. And then there's the autobiographical, the way Ralph tells the story in Coral Island, the voice of Dr Watson in Sherlock Holmes novels is unparalleled. No one tells a tale like they do. I also like the withheld information mystery, like the name of the second Mrs de Winter in Rebecca and the professor's young wife in Orkney. What kind of narratives do you like?

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This is the fourteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry

W... is for Writers' Museum, The

This is by far the best museum I have been to. Dedicated to the lives of  Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson, the three of the greatest Scottish writers. There are, of course, painting and sculptures, but there's also memorabilia - their desks, their pens, shoes even.
There are tales of how their greatest works came to be, their stories, inspirations, and thoughts. Lives of these men are brought out in a beautiful collection of objects that were related to them. I grew up reading Kidnapped, Treasure Island, and Stevenson's poetry, some of my favourite childrens' works ever! And for me to visit this place was like taking a spin in a time machine and coming face-to-face with my ten year old self.
I loved it! And the courtyard in front of it has their immortal words and the works of other famous authors set in stone. How lovely!

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats, Kirk, Loch Lomond and Luss, Mogwai, Necropolis, Old Man of Storr, Portobello, Queen of Scots, Robert Burns, Stirling, Tantallon Castle, Urquhart Castle, Venison.

C... is for Cramond!

Cramond is a beach. It is located about a half hour's bus ride from Edinburgh towards the north-west, where the River Almond enters the Firth of Forth. I went to Cramond during winter break, it was a very cold day. The bus dropped us off at a place which seemed like the end of the world, no trees, just a few shrubs, a few sheep on the hill slopes, and wind. Oh wind... it was blowing and whistling and generally creating a ruckus.
The seaside is beautiful, not a traditional sandy beach, but more of a driveway. People jogging, walking their dogs, kids playing, the usual.

There's an island a little way off into the sea called Cramond island. Wiki tells me that it's a mile into the sea. The really cool thing is that it is connected to the mainland by a really narrow, ledge-like path that gets exposed at low tide. You can walk into the sea! I haven't been there, we didn't know about it and by the time we were there the tide was up and there was no sign of a path :P

Someday, for sure, must go back.

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick.

Q

Q is for 'Quentin'.
Darling Uncle Quentin, crazy and adorable. The Famous Five, the most brilliant Enid Blyton, these names will only fill my heart with joy and bring to mind glorious summer days of childhood, emulating the children in the book. We rode bicycles, hiked out in the sun, splashed water on the beach, camped out in the crannies of fallen trees; yes, I grew up in a seaside town...
Quentin, father of George and uncle to Julian, Dick, and Anne, was a crazy scientist. He hated loud noises made by kids, the ruckuc of nighttime escapades, and the loud barking of Timmy, the dog. Every family has a Quentin, the immersed in work and lost to the world character. He loved his family, especially his wife Fanny, but he just couldn't cope with interruptions in his intense calculations.
While the kids nabbed wicked criminals and solved mysteries, Uncle Quentin was lost, with his head in the clouds! Every kid must be fed on a diet of at least one Enid Blyton a month for 3 - 4 years!

George, Timmy, Anne, Julian, and Dick

So far: Atticus, Beth, Cassius, Dumbledore, Estella, Francesca, Gandalf, Humbert, Ishmael, Jean-Baptiste, Kali, Long John Silver & Lisbeth, Miu, Nancy, Oliver, Piyali

I'm writing every day of April for the A-to-Z April Blogging Challenge 2012. I'm writing of characters of fiction that are immortal and touch hundreds of lives everyday...

L

L is for 'Long John Silver' & 'Lisbeth'.

I LOVE Silver. He's dashing, smart, charming, prudent, and handsome. He's the pirate in Treasure Island and probably the first dark guy I fell for... sigh. His relationship with the teenage boy protagonist Jim, is very interesting. At first, we do not know that Silver is leading a mutiny. For all we can tell, he's the regular good-spirited sailor with a parrot named after his ex-captain. He regales the whole lot with tales of his parrot's buccaneer background. Slowly, his dark side, his cunning is revealed. There are so many layers to the character of this man. Gorgeous.

Silver with his parrot called Captain Flint

Lisbeth is the very famous 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. She is socially inept, has had an abusive childhood, and is a misanthrope. Yet, she's talented, courageous, has a photographic memory, and is very inspiring. Rooney Mara did a briiliant job of her image in the movie. She SHOULD have won the Oscar. I love intelligent women and I am attracted to dark creatures; no wonder I'm so fascinated by her. This trilogy is one bestseller that really deserves selling.

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth

So far: Atticus, Beth, Cassius, Dumbledore, Estella, Francesca, Gandalf, Humbert, Ishmael, Jean-Baptiste, Kali

I'm writing every day of April for the A-to-Z April Blogging Challenge 2012. I'm writing of characters of fiction, that are immortal and touch hundreds of lives everyday...