The "Art of" series from Graywolf Press is an acclaimed, ongoing collection of short books on specific elements of literary craft. The Art of Perspective is a remarkably perceptive and gracefully written examination of the role that perspective plays in storytelling.
"There is no more important decision the writer makes than who tells the story," writes novelist Christopher Castellani (All This Talk of Love). "Narration is perspective in action... every story, at its core, [is] an assertion of perspective, with the narrator as the story's prime mover."
This is not a book of prescriptions for writers, but more a study of principles through examples. Castellani describes his way of deciding on the right perspective for one of his story ideas, and examines various strategies in the works of others. Each story has "its own set of requirements, its own moods and vision," and the choice of narrative strategy is key to their successful development. Castellani contrasts the intimate first-person narrator of E.M. Forster's Howards End with the more formal and omniscient one of A Passage to India. He considers the careful narrative distance in a Lorrie Moore story, the "subtle but distinct shift in perspective" in Faulkner's Light in August, and stories by Grace Paley, Tim O'Brien and Tony Kushner that invest "in multiplicity, in a cross section of voices and perspectives and angles." Castellani thinks and writes with great perception and clarity. Anyone with an interest in how good stories are constructed will find this book both enjoyable and useful. --Sara Catterall