Writing a novel with a narrator observer sounds straightforward but, as anyone who attempts it for the first time discovers, it is actually pretty hard to do well. The pitfalls are many: ask any commissioning editor. Often, the observer narrator winds up being a passive stand-in for the author and, instead of a novel with a central story that drives it forward, we get a series of scenes strung together by wry quips and shallow insights.
Those considering trying the form should pick up Steven Hayward’s latest novel, Don’t Be Afraid, and use it as a contemporary blueprint. It is a funny, touching book that uses its narrator observer to brilliant effect. Credit Hayward’s experience and technique. He is no neophyte. Don’t Be Afraid is his third novel; his second, The Secret Mitzvah of Lucio Burke, won Italy’s Premio Grinzane Cavour Prize. It established Hayward as a promising author who is able to write funny prose that draws laughs while connecting...
Andrew Clark writes the weekly “Road Sage” humour column for The Globe and Mail. He is the director of the Comedy: Writing and Performance program at Humber College.
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