Sunday, November 25, 2012

Overly reliable narrator

    We've all heard of the unreliable narrator (or if we haven't, just fake it). But then there's the very, very, very reliable narrator. In the first Harry Potter book, Harry has a bad dream. Then when he wakes up, he can't remember having had a dream at all. So who told the narrator? Who has this narrator been talking to? (I suspect Snape.) I dunno, I almost think that there might be a limit to how omniscient I want my narrator to be. I mean, sure, it's a book about magic and everything, and I guess it's a good idea to break down my disbelief in order to help me suspend it better. But this stuff is just impossible.
    Yes, it's true. Now I'm posting about somebody else's fictitious nightmares. Hey, for once I don't have any of my own. Apparently, all I need to keep them away is for South Carolina to beat Clemson at football. I'm sure both schools would be happy to arrange the schedule such that they play daily in order to keep my bad dreams away. Right?

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