Instead we’ll have a tedious rumination on writing. There’s how the character sees things unfolding and then there’s how the reader sees them. This tension works somewhat differently depending on the POV – first person or third – and you can see that by comparing the Chet and Bernie novels with Mrs. Plansky, and it can be funny or tragic or anything in between. The technique shows up in other art forms. Take Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, where Butterfly sings the famous aria Un Bel Di Vedremo, all about how Pinkerton will finally sail back to her and she’ll see the ship on the horizon, and him just a speck on the road and finally they’ll be together and he’ll call her his orange blossom. She has all the details down so clearly. But the strings and the horns are saying something else.

(Lots of great performances of this aria on YouTube – Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, even Rosa Ponselle. Victoria de los Angeles is my favorite. To spare yourself another post like this next Friday just send a photo or two and blurb about practically anything to peter.b.abrahams@gmail.com.)