Quicksilver

What is the author's style in Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson?

Asked by
Last updated by Cat
1 Answers
Log in to answer

"Quicksilver" is mostly told from a third-person point of view, but some portions of Odalisque, the third book, are told through a first-person point of view. Though the narrator is omniscient, proven by the fact that he is privy to most, if not all, of the characters' thoughts and emotions, he presents only a limited point of view, sharing only what is pertinent at specific points in the narrative. Generally, the point of view is reliable, but there are some instances where a lie is told by one character only to be refuted at a later point in the novel. An example of this is Rossignol claiming Eliza's child is d'Arcachon's until Eliza later tells Leibniz that Rossignol impregnated her. The narrator's method of providing limited and sometimes incorrect information serves to add suspense to the novel.