Crumb
asked
Matthew Iden:
Hello, Mr. Iden! I love that you write a lot of different types of books. I happen to love fiction with a psychological twist. What are your some of your favorites that you have read in the past 5 years? Thanks!
Matthew Iden
Hey Crumb - Thanks so much for writing. I love twists as well. They're difficult to pull off from the writing perspective, so I appreciate them even more when they're done right.
I think the most amazing example I've seen recently was The Life of Pi. Although not a mystery or thriller, it calls into question memory, perception, belief, and truth, which are the core components of a good twist, right? Thinking one thing but having it revealed to be something else entirely.
In traditional crime fiction, I've always loved Gold Coast, by Elmore Leonard. The twist there, such as it is, doesn't show up on the last page. The book is remarkable in that twists are usually accomplished by keeping the reader in the dark or withholding critical information because of a narrow focus of narration. In Gold Coast, EL gives us the POV of all the characters—we think we’ve got all the information we need—yet still pulls off the twist at the end.
If I could plug my own work, I really enjoyed writing The Kindness of Neighbors (https://www.amazon.com/Kindness-Neigh...), a short story/novella with a nice little left turn at the end. If you read it, let me know what you think!
Thanks for the great question!
matt i.
I think the most amazing example I've seen recently was The Life of Pi. Although not a mystery or thriller, it calls into question memory, perception, belief, and truth, which are the core components of a good twist, right? Thinking one thing but having it revealed to be something else entirely.
In traditional crime fiction, I've always loved Gold Coast, by Elmore Leonard. The twist there, such as it is, doesn't show up on the last page. The book is remarkable in that twists are usually accomplished by keeping the reader in the dark or withholding critical information because of a narrow focus of narration. In Gold Coast, EL gives us the POV of all the characters—we think we’ve got all the information we need—yet still pulls off the twist at the end.
If I could plug my own work, I really enjoyed writing The Kindness of Neighbors (https://www.amazon.com/Kindness-Neigh...), a short story/novella with a nice little left turn at the end. If you read it, let me know what you think!
Thanks for the great question!
matt i.
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