If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They're nice and all-I'm not saying that-but they're also touchy as hell.

The book itself never really caught my attention while I read it - perhaps it was the great expectations I had for it, but I attribute my lack of interest in the book to the characteristics outlined in this particular passage - the petulant, irritating, ingratiating voice of the narrator/main character.

That said, the voice here is clear and strong - we know who this person is almost from the end of the first line, which in and of itself is pretty long and rambling (another character note). The close, personal feeling coming from these words is an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into the story that's about to be told, allowing you a near insider's perspective, a confidant's allowance into the tale. So in that sense, it's strong, and it works.

It doesn't work for me because of the character of the MC, but then again, that has to do with the target audience and not the writing itself.

I suspect it's the kind of classic that's forced upon kids to introduce them to literat-ure-gonna-read-this-whether-you-like-it-or-not.

Cheers,
Pat

I personally think very highly of the novel, and I like the introduction. It reminds me also a little of A Clockwork Orange, where the narrator is candid in introducing himself to the reader. The narrator you list above could be discussed at quite length, as the author breaks several rules of writing through him (i.e. not having a trustworthy narrator).

You could've as well chosen David Copperfield, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or It to be as obscure... ( )