Question

Summary of my unknown friend

Answer 1

This was a very good story. The psychological jolt at the climax was excellent. The turning point from the child to the mother gave this story an emotional tug of reality. You did not need to mention a location, the words, village, riverside, long grass and the writing style of broken/uncertain English provides the reader with an authentic Indian image. The narrative voice invites you into the their atmosphere, problems and culture. The dialogue is part of the character and how they speak. When Rani says ‘Are you go now?’ this is correct. From this the reader makes assumptions on the character’s background, educational level and perhaps their social class. It makes the character distinct and brings real life into the story. So keep the dialogue. The narrative was too long on the build up and this means you should reconsider the structure. Try starting with the problem, the child and her imaginary friend in the garden. This would pull the readers in straight away and they will read on to find out why this is so important. Then weave in the background of Ram’s view of the home later. Keep writing and develop your unique style. Read A Real Durwan by Jhumpa Lahiri and books from Amit Chaudhuri to see how they imitate the narrative voice."