Style
Willis includes elements of madcap comedy in the style and form of Passage, and links different events thematically in order to foreshadow later events.
The novel celebrates metaphor, the very idea of which gives Joanna the understanding of how the NDE works to help the dying brain, rather than to ease it into death.
Willis gives certain dialogue traits to some characters. Joanna, seeking to avoid leading questions, continuously asks of patients and even friends, "Can you describe it?" and "Can you be more specific?" (When she finds Dr. Wright starting to unconsciously mimic her, she grins in approval.) Maisie, meanwhile, always manipulating Joanna and others to remain with her during her boring bouts in hospital rooms, tends to begin questions with, "Did you know...?" as in, about the Hindenburg, "Did you know they had a piano? Up in a balloon?" Later, when Kit Brierly begins a question, "Did you know...?" Joanna laughs in appreciation.
Read more about this topic: Passage (2001 Novel)
Famous quotes containing the word style:
“To me style is just the outside of content, and content the inside of style, like the outside and the inside of the human body—both go together, they can’t be separated.”
—Jean-Luc Godard (b. 1930)
“There are neither good nor bad subjects. From the point of view of pure Art, you could almost establish it as an axiom that the subject is irrelevant, style itself being an absolute manner of seeing things.”
—Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880)
“The flattering, if arbitrary, label, First Lady of the Theatre, takes its toll. The demands are great, not only in energy but eventually in dramatic focus. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a star to occupy an inch of space without bursting seams, cramping everyone else’s style and unbalancing a play. No matter how self-effacing a famous player may be, he makes an entrance as a casual neighbor and the audience interest shifts to the house next door.”
—Helen Hayes (1900–1993)