I was surprised at how well this story works told in the voice that it's told in. When I was reading it for the first time, I gave it two pages, and then I was going to chuck it in the reject pile.
But then I couldn't stop reading.
Susanna works as a narrator; Wolkomir performs some deft magic in staging this plucky eleven year old gal reporter as the reader's point of reference. The style-- an over-the-top caricature of reporting stereotype-- allows Susanna to speak directly to the audience. Instead of being off-putting and boring, Susanna's affected narration is charming. I don't know that it would have worked the same for an adult narrator; but Susanna gets by.
Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 5938) on :
I've been telling people that Susanna's voice is what makes this story work.
But in thinking about it more, I realize that's not quite true. It's Susanna as a character that makes this story work, but it's her voice that effectively conveys her character.