The perils of the first person.

Whenever you get a group of writers together, at some point the conversation is going to swing round to the eternal debate – whether it is best to write in the first person or the third.

To explain….

‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’ This is the opening line of Daphne Du Maurier’s great novel Rebecca – which is written from the point of view of the heroine – speaking in the first person.

‘Bilbo woke with the early sun in his eyes.’ Although we are seeing Middle Earth through Bilbo’s eyes – the book is written in the third person i.e. Bilbo woke– not I woke.

And the question – which is better?

There are those who prefer the first person. They say it helps them to connect with the character. To get closer to them and understand them better.

I see that – and there are first person books I really love – Rebecca among them.

BUT… and it’s a pretty big but for me… what if you don’t like that person?

It takes many hours to read a book. In the first person, you are constantly in close company with that character for the whole of the book. It’s almost like living with them.

I recently read Plum Island by Nelson DeMille. I had read his books before, and enjoyed them – but not for a long time. Plum Island a well written modern thriller… written in the first person POV (point of view) of the hero, detective John Corey.

The problem – I really didn’t like him. I found him arrogant and sexist and his attempts at humour were patronising. On top of that, his behaviour towards some of the female characters was, quite frankly, insulting. I was enjoying the story – a well-developed plot and good writing – but… imagine going to the movies with someone you didn’t like – who talked all the way through the film.

I’m not saying Corey wasn’t a good character and appropriate for the book. He was. His jaded New York detective was totally on point. Had the book been written in the third person, I would have enjoyed it – watching this awful but interesting character from the outside rather than being in his head.

I have never written in the first person. I don’t say I never will, but I think I would find it hard. As soon as I write “I” , I’m in my own head – not the character’s. This blog may well be the only first person writing I ever do.

I like stories involving many characters. I like seeing the world and the events through many different eyes. That’s not to say I won’t read first person novels… I will. I may even read Nelson DeMille again – but only if the book has a POV character I find more likeable.