What is the author's style in Staying On by Paul Scott?

Staying On is written mainly in the third person with the exception of portions of the text where the characters are reminiscing or having conversations. Since Lucy and Tusker tend to switch back and forth between talking to themselves and talking to others, much of the nature of the dialogue changes often. When the characters are doing something, the third party observer describes the activities. It gives the feeling of someone looking on rather than participating.

When any of the characters is reminiscing or carrying on imaginary conversations, then the first person is used. This has the effect of making those conversations seem more current than the activities that are actually occurring in the present. This effect may also be caused by the characters themselves living as much in the past as in the present, which makes the timeline rather fluid. The story moves slowly and is mostly a character study.

By starting the story with the death of a character and ending the story with the same death, there is also a circular feel to the story. In fact, almost the entire story occurs in the past as the author leads up to the main even for a second time. Some parts simply occur much farther in the past relative to the story actions. The story itself occurs over about three months.