If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that nonfiction
writing style is one of my favorite topics. Narrative nonfiction tells a story
or conveys an experience, and expository nonfiction explains, describes, or informs.
As I discussed here,
while some nonfiction writing is 100 percent expository, most narrative
nonfiction is actually a blend of narrative scenes and expository bridges. The ratio
of narrative to expository text ranges widely. Most biographies are burgeoning
with narrative scenes. Books about historical events often include a bit more
exposition. And at a certain, undefined tipping point, a book contains enough
expository sections that people routinely identify it as expository overall.
Still, many expository books feature narrative chapter
openers. One of my favorite books, The
Great Monkey Rescue by Sandra Markle, has a narrative beginning and
ending with an engaging expository center.
Sniffer
Dogs by Nancy Castaldo is expository overall, but it makes expert
use of occasional narrative sections to illustrate specific points. My book Hurricane Watch includes a short
narrative scene at the beginning and a large narrative chunk in the middle, as
I immerse readers in the action of the storm.
When Lunch Fights Back by Rebecca L.
Johnson includes alternating sections of narratives scenes of predator and prey
and expository behind-the-story explanations of
how their behaviors help them survive—or not.
Neighborhood
Sharks by Katherine Roy is also a 50-50 mix with narratives that
show sharks close up and expository sections that provide fascinating
descriptions of the hunters’ body features and how they work.
In all of the books mentioned above, the authors hooked young
readers with a narrative opening. It’s a winning technique that works time and
again. So imagine my surprise when after reading the lyrical, luscious,
wonderfully mysterious 5-page expository opening of Giant Squid, I suddenly found myself plunged into a gripping
narrative scene that focuses on the squid’s fascinating feeding strategy.
With this bold choice, uber-talented author Candace Fleming broke
the mold. Here, for the first time I know of, a writer began her
narrative-expository hybrid with an expository passage.
Was it the right
decision? You bet! It’s one of the most intriguing expository passages I’ve
ever read. It’s simply enchanting.
Taken as a whole, the book is a 50-50 mix consisting of three
narrative scenes and gorgeous expository descriptions that do more than link
one scene to the next. They bring us into the life and the world of one of
Earth’s least known creatures.
Giant
Squid is definitely one of my favorite books of the year.