anyone clear on why out of the blue one character is a first person narrator who vanishes for several chapters then reappears?

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3 years ago
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Khushi Singh *Spoilers* [I think it's a stylistic choice made to garner empathy and support for Eleanor. As readers, we're already rooting for Cleo as Frank's partner. We want them to work their problems out and live happily. If Eleanor gets introduced into the mix, we're just going to look at her as "the other woman" and despise her. The change to 'i' is done to demonstrate her internal monologue to the effect where we don't demonise her but instead look at her a as funny & kind woman, so that we want to believe she's a viable, if not better, match for Frank. Moreover, if you noticed, even though the story focuses on Cleo & Frank, all the chapters are about how a group of friends relate to each other, how they each add an important stroke of colour to a large canvas of their (and Frank & Cleo's) lives. Eleanor is different from them, a stranger to this group. The author CAN take the bold step of switching to 'i' with her without making it seem inconsistent and illogical. I believe that's why the change to the first person is justified. This is a book about Cleo & Frank, yes, but at its heart, the book is about complicated and flawed interpersonal relationships, not just with people around them, but also with the work they do, a city just as eccentric as them & their experiences, and all the human virtues and vices that are anything but black & white. The third and first person narratives are an effective tool to explore all of that.]

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Lesley Its just another narrative! that of Eleanor the female copywriter that falls in love with Frank. She appears twice within the third person narrative and it is a bit of a jolt. And she doesn't disappear, she appears within the main narrative. Its just the author giving her a viewpoint as she is an important character. I liked it!

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