In my current read some of the chapters are of the main character just living. For a whole chapter she wanders around the property. A whole other chapter she ate lunch. In another she danced. In another she got her hair cut.
In between there is a story slowly building to a conclusion, and the mood of the story keeps me interested. I personally like these "slice-of-life" chapters. It feels like I'm a spirit in the room observing the characters live their lives.
Do you like these chapters? Do they bore you? What are your thoughts on them?
by justkeepbreathing94
4 Comments
It completely depends on the book and what those chapters feel like they’re doing. If they feel like they serve some larger point or work to show me something about the character, then I like them. If they *feel* like the author was trying to pad the book, I find them irritating.
I like them, as long as they are well done, and I like the characters and setting. It’s nice to just spend time in the world like that.
I especially enjoy the scenes with food and eating. Please describe to me in painstaking detail the meal the characters are enjoying, I can’t get enough.
I really like slice of life novels, but I can’t abide scenes like that when it feels like the author is just trying to reach a word count.
I have so many DNFs of books that suddenly slowed waaaay down at the 50-75% mark and became padded with useless scenes. The characters start wasting so much time discussing the plot so far, and walking to and from places, and going out to dinner, and then laying in bed thinking about the plot again.
See Ulysses by James Joyce