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 Fury by Alex Michaelides

The Fury

Alex Michaelides

8 hours, 11 minutes • audio • 2024

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Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade by Albert Monteys, Ryan North, Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade

Albert Monteys, Ryan North, Kurt Vonnegut

192 pages • hardcover • 2020

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Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut

275 pages • paperback • 1969

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The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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Douglas Adams

815 pages • paperback • 1979

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Mutation by Michael McBride

Mutation

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Michael McBride

480 pages • digital

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The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

The Perfect Marriage

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Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen

Patricia Wants to Cuddle

Samantha Allen

6 hours, 38 minutes • audio • 2022

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The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

The Fairy-Tale Detectives

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Michael Buckley

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Under the Dome: Part Two by Stephen King

Under the Dome: Part Two

Under the Dome Split-Volume #2

Stephen King

603 pages • paperback • 2009

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Je suis le rêve des autres by Christian Chavassieux

Je suis le rêve des autres

Christian Chavassieux

176 pages • paperback • 2022

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