The Whiskey Rebels?

MaryMumsy

MaryMumsy

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Have any of you read The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss? It's either historical or literary, I guess depending on who's classifying it. I am enjoying the individual chapters, but find the structure jarring. One chapter from the POV of a former Revolutionary War officer, then a chapter from the POV of a younger woman. I am assuming that eventually their paths will cross, but for now it feels disjointed. You just start to get into the story, and wham, time for a new chapter and the other POV.

MM
 
Clio

Clio

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MaryMumsy said:
Have any of you read The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss? It's either historical or literary, I guess depending on who's classifying it. I am enjoying the individual chapters, but find the structure jarring. One chapter from the POV of a former Revolutionary War officer, then a chapter from the POV of a younger woman. I am assuming that eventually their paths will cross, but for now it feels disjointed. You just start to get into the story, and wham, time for a new chapter and the other POV.

MM
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I haven't read this particular book, MM, but the structure you highlight is becoming quite popular these days. I can think of Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance, Weir's Innocent Traitor, Pears' An Instance of the Fingerpost that are all this style - first person too. Away from strict historical, it's a structure Anita Shreve seems to use in some of her literary novels too, as did Joanne Harris in Gentlemen and Players.

When done well it adds a lively touch, but I agree with you that it can be jarring.
 

ALM

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I haven't read any of the books mentioned, but I'll look for them. I recently finished a manuscript with two POVs and I was unsure how to indicate where I was changing from one to the other. I ended up putting datelines at the head of each chapter, so that a reader would know the story was suddenly switching centuries and characters. I'll be interested to see how other authors tackle this.
 
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