Three books I read this year that tickled my brain, that were utterly delightful to read thanks to the way they were written. A lot of the charm comes from the magnetic narrator.
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
The book is narrated by Death, perhaps the Ultimate Omnipresent Narrator. A bit fanciful, a lot poignant.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov
The very first paragraph got me hooked, and the writing style of the rest of the book is the same: luscious and linguistically delicious. The narrator is an admitted pedophile, and yet it's hard not to be drawn into his personality, worldview, and the unraveling of his plot.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The narrator, or the Watcher, as he refers to himself, is a friend of the titular character. He drops in f-bombs mixed with Spanglish mixed with Oscar's vernacular, which is nerdy and sesquipedalian. Also read a bit like a modern-day myth or tragedy or fable. You read and decide which one it is.
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