I have just read The Vanishing Act, by Mette Jakobsen. Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize 2012, I was enchanted by this weird and wonderful tale of grief, childhood and the beauty of people, quirks and all.
Vintage Books
You may recall from my post Humble Beginnings I am on a quest to find out what it takes to become a novelist, so instead of reviewing the book, I want to share with you what I learned:
1. It is okay to break the rules, as long as you do it well.
2. To sketch your characters is often more effective than to detail every part of their being.
In this two part post, I begin with how Mette Jakobsen breaks the rules – a talent I believe is a must-have for the successful novelist. In The Vanishing Act, this is achieved through the use of flashbacks. Incidentally, here’s one of my own…
…I once read — on a ‘how to’ site somewhere — that flashbacks should be avoided as they disorient the reader and disrupt the story flow. Yet I can’t help wanting to track down whoever wrote this and slap them around the face with this book. The Vanishing Act is a treasure trove of memories and stories hidden within stories. Mette’s skill in delicately balancing present with past, flows through the tale, piecing together a jigsaw which reminds the reader how essential stories are to help children understand the world – especially when it is big, scary, and in this case heart-breaking.
It could be argued most stories don’t need many (or any) flashbacks, but The Vanishing Act uses them intentionally for dramatic effect: You know from the outset, the main character, Minou’s mother disappeared, but you want to know what happened to her and why. Flashbacks in this tale piece together clues – much like a detective novel – daring you to make your own conclusions, but they also delay the tension. You know a climax is coming where all will be revealed, but the flashbacks delay this moment, building tension whilst making you care more and more for the characters. By the time the sorrowful conclusion hits, you’ve been unwittingly lured into the spider’s web.
So, it works for The Vanishing Act, but should you use flashbacks in your stories?
Perhaps the first thing to ask is, ‘Does this flashback need to be here?’ Often, flashbacks are poorly used to explain present events which could be explained in the present situation, or better yet — not explained at all! Remember, too much explanation is tedious to read. Flashbacks should also be interesting in their own right — a little tale of their own, if you will — and they should also drive the story, perhaps by revealing a situation which affected your character so deeply, it changed their personality.
I’d love to know what you think about flashbacks – please share any good/bad examples!
