Last week, we looked at how we can use a book’s pace to figure out what we’re in the mood to read next. This week, let’s look at storyline.
According to the library’s online reading recommendation tool NoveList, “storyline” is how we look at a book’s focus and structure. It includes some elements of pace, but it’s so much more. In a way, it’s the skeleton that holds the book together.
Some books are intricately plotted, with complicated or elaborate storylines. These are the books you read carefully, because every detail is important. Other books feature a nonlinear storyline, where events shift between time periods. Greer Hendricks’ The Wife Between Us, a complex thriller told from the perspective of three narrators, is a good example of both intricately plotted and nonlinear storylines in one book.
Other books’ storylines are open-ended, leaving you hanging. A famous example is Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, where the book’s final line leaves you wondering just how things will turn out. It’s not uncommon to see sequels pop up, since not everyone can stand an open loop. See Alexandra Ripley’s Scarlett for one author’s idea of what happened.
Like Gone with the Wind, some books have a sweeping storyline that sprawls across decades or generations, frequently including multiple locations and historical events. Ken Follett’s series Pillars of the Earth is such an epic drama that weaves its way through the 12th to 16th centuries in one town of England. Follett’s books demonstrate multiple storylines at work. Intricately plotted and sweeping in narrative, they’re also just as character-driven as they are plot-driven – that is, both character development and unraveling events drive the story forward.
While Follett’s settings are historical, other books create their own worlds. Fantasy series like George R. R. Martin’s series Song of Ice and Fire (more popularly known as Game of Thrones) immerse you in a vivid imaginary world with invented histories, languages, geography and cultures.
Other books’ storylines seek to educate as well as entertain. Issue-oriented storylines cover controversial themes, such as emotional, ethical or social problems. Narrative non-fiction frequently falls in this category. For example, the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn explores human rights violations against women around the world – and how to change it. It’s an uncomfortable and inspiring read that gives voice to the people who often have none.
Speaking of marginalized voices, the storyline “own voices” pairs a main character (protagonist) and author who share a marginalized identity. Colson Whitehead’s Underground Railroad follows the marginalized, enslaved woman Cora through her dangerous journey from pre-Civil War Georgia to freedom.
But Whitehead’s storyline is also unconventional – that is, it uses unique or unexpected elements to adapt or play with a conventional storyline. In an unanticipated twist, Whitehead portrays the Underground Railroad as a physical railroad tunneling beneath the South. Bet you didn’t see that coming!
What storylines are represented in books you’ve read lately?
~ Julie Phillips, Director
Botetourt County Libraries
