points of view

[emylno.livejournal.com]

Hello there! I'm still working my way through the marlow books, but one thing that I really like so far are the bits when the narrative switches from Nicola's point of view to one of the others in the family.

I find it fascinating to see the family ins-and-outs from the different perspectives, it seems to become so much more three-dimensional, and I only wish Antonia Forest did it more. I like Nick a lot, but I sometimes find her limiting, and often wish I knew the true dynamics and what was really going on at the 'top' of the family, between the boys, and between the 'middles' like Ginty and Ann.

Obviously I still have some reading to do, but I think so far (in the first 4 books) I've come across the p.o.v's of nicola (obviously) and Lawrie, Peter, Ginty, and a bit of Patrick and a Teensy bit of Karen, but still no Giles, Rowan, or Ann. So I'm just curious as to whether we ever get to see through their eyes too?
(I don't mind spoilers a bit, so no worries about that!)

Comments

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

Welcome!

There's a few snippets of Ann's POV - there's one at the beginning of End Of Term when she is conscious that she's fussed rather by keeping everyone on the station platform rather than letting them run off into Colebridge, and another one in Attic Term where she thinks - quite perspicaciously, I think - that whilst Ginty and Lawrie both mind things more than other people, Lawrie tends to loudly despond and then get over it whereas Gin burns up inside.

Till you mentioned it, I hadn't thought of the lack of Rowan POV - I wonder whether she comes over as so omnicompetent partly because we can't see inside her head?

[colne-dsr.livejournal.com]

There's a fair bit of Giles in "Run Away Home" - which is the only other book, apart from Autumn Term, that he actually appears in. You hear plenty about him, but he isn't actually there, in the other books.

[emylno.livejournal.com]

"""Till you mentioned it, I hadn't thought of the lack of Rowan POV - I wonder whether she comes over as so omnicompetent partly because we can't see inside her head?"""

That's a good point. It seems to me that as far as what you see on the outside goes, Rowan and Nick are pretty similar. Both seem proud, driven, embarrassed by excessive emotion, and they never get into a flap like the others do. They were also the only two who initially minded the move to Trennels. Perhaps that's why we get the 'inner' view of Nicola and the 'outer' view of Rowan, because they share the same insecurities, and it wouldn't do to go over the same ground twice?

I often think Rowan, along with Ann, pulled the short straw in the family being neither the youngest or eldest single boy or girl, or one of twins.
Being at the older end of my family though, I'm naturally interested in the older ones and want to hear more about them, rebelling a bit against Forest's choice of main characters!!

[richenda.livejournal.com]

I've come across the p.o.v's of nicola (obviously) and Lawrie, Peter, Ginty, and a bit of Patrick and a Teensy bit of Karen, but still no Giles, Rowan, or Ann. So I'm just curious as to whether we ever get to see through their eyes too?

I've just reread the preface to the GGB edition of FL and was fascinated to find that AF created a large family with the idea that she might write a series that based each book on a different POV.

[emylno.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting idea, I wonder why she changed her mind?