: When the second person *view* is not an uninvited guest? It is very strange to read the narrative from second person, but there are examples! Maybe there are a number of situations which are
It is very strange to read the narrative from second person, but there are examples! Maybe there are a number of situations which are good for using second-person view?
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Junot Diaz's "The Cheater's Guide to Love" is a nice short-story and a brilliant contemporary example of the second person's use in fiction. Second-person is obviously not implicating the reader herself—it's always clearly about the protagonist—the PoV just serves to further, maybe more intimately, familiarize the reader with the protagonist. Bring her even closer into the protagonist's mind, thoughts, feelings. If mishandled it can be awkward and an instant turn-off, but it has its unique benefits.
Good luck!
Self-help books come to mind.
And thanks to random internet people, we have a list of notable second person narratives
Text Adventure games use a second-person narrative, as do many games that have been inspired by them, including some first person shooters.
You are in a dark room. You might be eaten by a grue.
"You're reading the advertisement: an
offer like this isn't made every day.
You read and reread it. It seems to be
addressed to you and nobody else..."
These are the opening words of Carlos Fuentes' Aura, the only example of second person narration I've read.
In Fuentes' case, I think the second person narration contributes to an impression that the protagonist's actions (your actions) are happening in the context of a hypnotic or dream-like state. In Fuentes' story, the technique is effective and compelling.
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