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:
“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.”
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“I would observe to you that what is called style in writing or speaking is formed very early in life while the imagination is warm, and impressions are permanent.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest attention to colloquial speech.”
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)