When reading ww-member Roger Morris's excellent Taking Comfort I was struck by his skilful use of two techniques, both of which often feature in ww discussions - present-tense narration and multiple points of view.

I'm one of those people who can have a problem with present-tense narration, often tending to find it artificial or intrusive. However, I must say that Roger Morris's use of it in Taking Comfort works a treat. It is absolutely right both for the narration and for enabling us to 'be with' the characters and to be inside their mind as they travel through this most original and engaging story. Roger has achieved the sense of immediacy and involvement that so many writers have unsuccessfully aimed for with their use of the present tense. I've tried to work out why it works for me in Taking Comfort and I've concluded that it's because so much of the writing concerns what people are thinking and what they are like, which have great 'present-ness', rather than just straightforward narration of a story.

Using multiple points of view is neither unusual nor controversial, but it needs to be mentioned in connection with Taking Comfort not least because the author has used the technique in such a clever and sensitive way that the flow of the reader's interpretation of the novel is never adversely interrupted. He has achieved this particularly through presenting his characters first and foremost through their various relationships with products, with the products' features and with their branding, these constituting a continuous and consistent thread through the changes. This object-relationship device is used most intelligently and allows the author to expose his characters imaginatively without the need for the more usual description and explanation which would be considerably less compelling.

Taking Comfort is interesting on many technical counts but it is also a cracking read from any viewpoint. Don't miss it.

Chris