The Killing Dance
What is the author's style in The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton?
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The point of view in The Killing Dance is first person limited. The story is told from Anita's point of view, which means that she can only report external events as they appear to her. While she can give details about the way that certain events makes her feel and react, she cannot explain other characters' reactions or feelings. The point of view is mostly reliable but not always since the narrator can only describe what is going on as she sees it. This is important to the novel since it allows the plot to develop; if the narrator were omniscient, she would know what other people are thinking throughout the novel, eliminating the mystery of the plot. Since many of the characters act differently than they think throughout the novel, there would not be the dramatic denouement that occurs in the novel.
The story is told through a fairly equal combination of exposition and dialogue which allows the reader to come into contact with the individual characters as well as the narrator's opinions of them. This also allows the narrator to provide some background into the world in which the story occurs. The entire book takes place over a period of a several days, so the timing of the chapters is pretty evenly spaced, with the exception of periods where the narrator is asleep. The events of the novel are seen through Anita's eyes, though she sometimes makes an effort to explain other characters' reactions and feelings as she believes them to be.
The Killing Dance, BookRags