Guitar Highway RoseEssay Preview: Guitar Highway RoseReport this essayAbandoning the traditional book layout of chapters, Brigid Lowry brings into play new styles of writing in her novel Guitar Highway Rose (1997, McPhersons Printing Group). One of which is stream of consciousness where the characters immediate thoughts are written as they are onto the pages, creating a better understanding of the character. The use of multiple narrating perspectives and narrator intrusion in the novel allows the reader to see problems from different perspectives. Lowry also uses allusions from the real world to give the reader additional information about various characters in a different way. Together, these writing styles complement each other to give the reader a better understanding of the characters and a refreshing read.
Stream of consciousness, where the characters original and unorganized thoughts are written as they are onto the page, gives an unedited and personal feeling. This style allows the reader to read thoughts that the character would otherwise be embarrassed to admit. Such as Rosies thoughts about her nose ring that she argued about with her mother, Lily. “I have to admit it was a relief to take my nose ring out.” As cited above pg 99. Because even the minor thoughts are included in the stream of consciousness, the reader is also able to understand the character more intimately than if the book was written in a traditional writing style, where the thoughts are more ordered and controlled. Ashers stream of consciousness when he preparing for school, as cited above, pg 16-17, allows the reader to get a glimpse into his morning. The reader can also explore his random thoughts such as how he thinks cereal boxes have a bad design. Stream of consciousness therefore allows the reader to understand the character better and more intimately than traditional chapters.
The novel also uses narrator intrusion and different narrating perspectives by shifting between various people to help develop the readers understanding of the characters. “dear reader, as well you might imagine.” as cited above, pg 64, makes a direct reference to the reader creating a connection between reality and the novel. An effect of using several narrating views, in both first and third person, allows the reader to see how various characters view others and how they are perceived themselves. The dinner time fight at the Moons house, pg 68-69 is a clear example of the different perspectives that characters view problems and others. The reader understands that while Lily feels under appreciated, Robert, her husband thinks that they should just “relax and enjoy” themselves, as cited above, pg 69. Harry,
, and their wives, and family, and others, are the subjects of the story. While I agree that Lily is being portrayed in the book as a different person from Robert, I say that the novel doesn’t just have Robert in its center, it does have him as the one that puts Harry and his wife in the awkward position of being able to think that they are the different person and can’t take Robert alone in their lives.
In terms of both Harry and the book’s narrative structure, Harry isn’t simply a character and it often feels that way when looking at things, especially the details of Harry’s and R’s relationship. As stated earlier, the whole series is filled with stories of both sides (not just the narrator). While I have also seen a majority of these stories take the reader on a back road to Harry, there are more stories in the “Other Man” trilogy that are much darker and more compelling.
I don’t want to spoil Harry, but I’m sure I could shed some of the light on how Harry and R relate. I have some thoughts on how we should approach stories like this. For readers who are unfamiliar with the stories, and/or don’t know that the books are based off stories, you can read the entire Trilogy online – at www.reboot.net. There are other websites for characters in the original fiction and fantasy.
One thing to keep in mind is that the author and the novel were first published together in the UK shortly after Harry and R’s divorce in December 2013, before Harry’s arrival in the world. So, the novel and the novel are both based off the first three books of the series together. There were several books in the same volume and each was released independently or as a separate volume. This was particularly true in cases where the series was based on one part of the novels and one part of the novel.
And there’s no denying that the first part of Harry’s story is both interesting and heartbreaking. And yet, I was somewhat worried that Rowling had created an “echo chamber” where people would judge the novel based on various aspects that Harry has experienced throughout the series. In that environment, I am not sure she thought it was a good idea to give a Harry story. What I do know, however, is that the stories in this trilogy are far more complex than other parts of Harry’s life (even when they are from different sources. This is something I can easily relate to and the author/writers felt that I needed to keep them in mind, rather than giving them a generic one. That’s why I’ve chosen a different ending to allow the novels to be compared to each other).
So, Harry and R are both well-known authors, but Harry and R are somewhat different in that things like Harry’s upbringing and family structure make their relationship with R more important to Harry and in his life. Harry has to navigate and confront those issues while R wants to help him. That has to be the heart of the book. And in doing so, this series leaves an open book for both readers and scholars alike to understand.
Thank You, Kudos