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52 Book Club: 2024 Reading Challenge - hosted by anamarquina

An omniscient narrator
What is an omniscient narrator? Omniscient means “all-knowing.” Omniscient narrators know what is happening at all times throughout the book. They know the thoughts, feelings, and backstories of all the characters (or a specific character or character group for limited omniscient.) Usually, omniscient narrators are written in third person (he/she/they/them) but there are a few exceptions to this. (For example, The Book Thief, which is narrated by death.)

A few tips for working out whether or not you have an omniscient narrator:

– Does the voice remain the same throughout the novel? You may explore the perspectives of multiple characters, but the narrator’s voice should use the same language and tone while exploring the story with each character.

– Whose perspectives do we see? Books with omniscient narrators often have multiple, varied perspectives. You may see the thoughts or feelings from multiple characters, even in the same scene.

– Is the narrator all-knowing? Is there anything in the book that the narrator doesn’t know? Does the narrator provide details about what’s happened in the past and what’s currently happening? Are we being told things that the characters couldn’t or wouldn’t know? For example: You may see sentences like: “Little did he know, the killer was already waiting for him…”

– Web search! When in doubt, a quick web search with the book title “+ narration style” may help clarify whether or not you have an omniscient narrator.

Examples: The Lord of the Flies, Beloved, Middlemarch, Where the Crawdads Sing, Everything I Never Told You, Dune
Goodreads List: An omniscient narrator
All books added
The Pants of Perspective: One Woman's 3,000 Kilometre Running Adventure through the Wilds of New Zealand by Anna McNuff

The Pants of Perspective: One Woman's 3,000 Kilometre Running Adventure through the Wilds of New Zealand

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American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

American Dirt

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Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

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Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

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Living on Hope Street by Demet Divaroren

Living on Hope Street

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The Book That No One Wanted to Read by Richard Ayoade

The Book That No One Wanted to Read

Richard Ayoade

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Never Never by Serena Valentino

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Bleak House by Charles Dickens

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Saga, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan

Saga, Vol. 3

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Brian K. Vaughan

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Tom Hanks

15 hours, 56 minutes • audio • 2023

fiction historical literary funny informative lighthearted medium-paced