What is the author's style in A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda?

The chapters flow logically from one to another in chronological sequence. Only one flashback is used to explain who la Catalina is and why her role is important. Castaneda uses quite a bit of dialog with directives that may help some readers to envision the characters but may also distract others. The current trend is to avoid too many directives, dropping it down to simple "he said" or "she said" while depending upon dialog content to stimulate the reader's imagination. Just which technique works better is primarily a question of preferred style.

Castaneda's descriptive narratives of his experiences while under the influence of peyote or mushrooms clearly reveal the strangeness of the situations. However, the narratives tend toward length and detail that some readers may find to be overdone, similar to how some of the dialog may come off as melodramatic. The general structure does work to move the story ahead—first an experience in descriptive narrative, then a conversation about the experience in dialog, and repeat this construct throughout the story.