Musings about book immersion. Can a book without a main character – including the narrator – be any fun?
Imagine a book without a personal voice, not even a story narrated from the point of view of a dog or a cat. When you lack the perspective of a living being, what is being told simply represents the universe. This is not the same as a non-fiction book. Time is not measured, and there is no past, present, and future. The story does not take place in 2021 because it does not take place at any time. It is doubtful that humans will be mentioned at all as there is no reason for ‘nothing’ to be interested in human beings more than what else is out there.
I don’t want to go as far as saying that the story is not recounted using any human language. Let’s assume – for argument’s sake – that we are talking about a traditional book. Who wrote it? Me (wishful thinking). It is a book about existence, about being in this world. Everything just ‘is’. Static, by which I don’t mean inactive: in this story, the same things are happening as in the world that you know. They are simply not mentioned.Â
When you read between the lines – I admit that it is hard to even grasp these lines – a story will unfold itself. A very personal story, as the voice that shares it with you is impartial, holding no perspective or interest in the story whatsoever. Where will your story take you? Into the real world? I’m not explicitly mentioning what troubles the world is facing this year.
Or would you rather explore an imaginary world? The latter is clearly beyond the scope of my book but not beyond the scope of the story you come up with as you read the pages I wrote. It is a solo experience. You don’t have to play together with other people: I don’t mention them and you don’t have to bring them into your world.
When the story lacks a main character or main voice, the reader automatically becomes the main character of the story that is not about him or her at all. And with that, you have the same immersive experience as when you are reading a book with a clear perspective. Except for this time, you read a story without limitations: you no longer are a man or a woman, a human or an avian, a hero or an omniscient creature.
You are you, inside the story and outside the story; a story that takes place whenever because you can start reading today, tomorrow, or many years from now. And when you start reading, I find myself writing about a world so familiar yet also unfamiliar as I don’t know what’s on your mind. I never will. And that is why I, the author, and you, the reader, don’t share the same story. We can only ever be immersed in our own stories.
