More on Last Orders

2/14/2013

4 Comments

 
Last Orders so far seems to be about death and the memories that are left behind. The book starts off with Jack in a small bottle in the form of ashes and his various friends confronted with his funeral and the duty of dispersing his ashes into the sea of his choice. The first member of the gang is Ray. Ray began his journey with Jack in the deserts of Africa during World War Two. Vic, the town undertaker come next because of his shop being located across from the butcher shop of Jack. Vince, the son of jack, and Lenny also follow suit. 

Mr. Swift seems very intent on shifting the characters, and so every chapter is named for the point of view of the speaker. I really like how it feels as if the characters are viewpoints of a camera, yet that is the main difference from other authors. Swift likes to jump from character to character and I don't blame him because he definitely knows how to do so. 
4 Comments
Paige W.
2/17/2013 09:23:14 am

Kodi, the book you are reading sounds really good! Like your author, my author also likes to shift between characters, but she does it multiple times with only two characters. I don't know about you, but I like how the main characters different points of view can show the different personalities and outlooks on life.

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Anna P.
2/18/2013 02:14:52 am

My author, like yours, doesn't stick to just one character and tells the whole story from their perspective. In the first book I read, she split it into three sections, each section from a main character's point of view. In the one I'm currently reading, it's third person point of view, but each chapter (so far) has been titled with a character's name and that character is introduced in the chapter.

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Shelby P.
2/19/2013 11:20:14 am

Kody, the theme in your novel seems quite intriguing to me. I like how there is a dark presence because of death but then there is still the positive aspects due to the memories left behind. Like your author, mine chose to incorporate death in Beyond Black. Also, my author shifts between the viewpoints of the characters often. I agree with you about the fact that our authors can switch between the characters frequently because they know how to do so. However, we still have some differences between the two novels. One of the first elements that I noticed was that they are set in a different time. Yours deals with a time closer to WWII but mine is in the earliest twenty-first century. Another difference that I found was that your novel has more male characters and Beyond Black has more female characters. Lastly, I hope you enjoy the end of the novel!

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Matthew R
2/19/2013 01:57:27 pm

I am reading Ian McEwan and it is interesting how their styles kind of line up. one of the recurring ideas In McEwan's books is that peoples lives are intertwined oftentimes more than they know. my first book bounced around between characters and never actually provided the reader with a true main character. It is a truly interesting effect. I don't know about you but I felt equally attached to all of the characters by the end of my first book due to hearing all of their experiences. my second book is less based around character changes, but i think McEwan is trying to create the same feeling with only using one character. It's really cool effect and it's nice to see another author trying the same kind of things.

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