Quote:
Originally Posted by frddgls
Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus starts in second person present tense. I don't know if it continues that way for the whole book because I couldn't make myself read more that the first two pages.
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I just looked at it at Amazon; it seems as if the opening is second person present and then it switches to third person present. I'd be OK with second person in that limited way--bringing the reader into the story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
There are very few books; I'm told "If On a Winter's Night a Traveller" by Italo Calvino is 2nd person.
I did a set of recommendations of <a href="http://elf.dreamwidth.org/344152.html#cutid2">fanfic written in 2nd person</a>; a couple of them are classic fairy tales. (In 2nd person future tense.)
2nd person is good for: - Unreliable narrators,
- Disturbing themes where 1st or 3rd would leave the reader too distant to get the full emotional impact,
- Introspective stories about characters who don't do introspection.
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I also looked at the Calvino book at Amazon--it too seems to start with an introductory section in second person, then shift to first.
In small doses it can be effective, I suppose, but for a whole book? It feels like the commentary you get at the beginning of a game ("You receive a letter and must go and save your friend ..."), or a Choose-You-Own Adventure.