The novel is made up of 5 separate narratives which take place in different times and places. As each character tells his/her story, their lives and memories overlap and converge.
Narrative #1 Low Men in Yellow Coats-1960
Cast of Characters
Bobby Garfield
Liz Garfield, Bobby�s mother
Carol Gerber, one of Bobby�s best friends
Sully-John, the other of Bobby�s best friends
Ted Brautigan, a boarder and clairvoyant who rents the upstairs apartment.
The St. Gabes Boys
Summary:
Told in Bobby�s point of view about the summer of 1960. He is an 11-year old living with his single mother, Liz. This narrative describes the relationship of the three best friends, in what seems to be a normal summer. A mysterious man, Ted Brautigan, moves into the apartment upstairs. Ted introduces Bobby to the world of books, namely The Lord of the Flies. He also pays Bobby to look out for the �low men in yellow coats,� people from another world who want to capture Ted because of his psychic ability. Ted passes some of his psychic ability to Bobby temporarily, which becomes evident when Bobby foils a card game scam artist at a carnival. We follow Bobby as he discovers who his father really was, the secret his mother has been keeping, and we follow him through the ups and downs of typical pre-teen relationships. One day the St. Gabes boys beat Carol with a baseball bat. Bobby rescues her, drops his baseball glove, and takes her to Ted. He puts her dislocated shoulder back together. Shortly thereafter, Ted leaves, going with the �low men in yellow coats.�
Narrative #2 Hearts in Atlantis-1966
Cast of characters
Pete Riley
Carol Gerber
The dorm residents of Chamberlain III
Summary:
Told through the point of view of Pete Riley the year he is a freshman in college. A group of boys in Chamberlain III become obsessed with playing Hearts. Pete falls in love with Carol Gerber who is going steady with Sully John back home. She becomes protective of Pete, and they share a special friendship. She shares with him her childhood memories with Bobby Garfield and Sully, and also tells him about the attack. Sadly, she tells him she has lost touch with Bobby. The Vietnam War has started, and she joins protest groups, gets arrested. Her mother has alcoholic problems, so she leaves school to go home and take care of her mother. She and Pete also lose touch.
Narrative #3 Blind Willie-1983
Characters
Bill Shearman
Willie Garfield
Told through the point of view of Bill Shearman who becomes Willie Garfield, aka Blind Willie, who was one of the St. Gabe Boys. He was the one who held down Carol while his friend beat her with a baseball bat. We follow this narrative as he does his penance for Carol Gerber
Narrative #4 Why We�re in Vietnam-1999
Sully
Willie Shearman
�Dearie� Dieffenbacher
This narrative follows the musings of now 50+ year-old Sully, his memories of Carol and Bobby, and his time served in the Vietnam War. The narrative flashes between his Vietnam experience and 1999�in this case, the present, and ends with his sudden death.
Narrative #5 Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling
Characters:
Bobby
Carol
Ted (in spirit)
The final narrative brings together Bobby and Carol one last time through the magical intervention of Ted.
This is a nutshell version of the novel and only showed the highlights. One of the images that echoes throughout the novel is Bobby�s baseball glove. He loses it in the first narrative. In the second narrative, Carol mentions to Pete that he has seen Willie Shearman with it. In the third narrative, Blind Willie carries it with him. In the fourth narrative, it lands in Sully�s lap just before his sudden death. In the final narrative, the glove is returned to Bobby. Other common threads that weave throughout the story are the Vietnam War and card games.
This technique can be used in shorter stories as well. The narratives would be shorter, of course, if you use several narratives in one short story.
Now let�s move on to the exercise:
For this exercise, you�re going to do an outline of a story with this converging points of view variation. It can be as detailed as you like. Your first narrative should take place at home. Home can be whatever you want it to mean. It can be any time or place. In this narrative you will introduce your cast of characters who will take turns narrating their stories. You might want to use your own life to get ideas. Start with the street you lived on, the summer you were ten or twelve. Do a freewrite about that summer. When you�ve finished your freewrite, circle the main characters. Choose which one you�d like to start off your story. Choose another from that freewrite and move forward in time. It could be one, five, or ten years ahead. Outline a possible story for this character. Freewrite first, if it makes it easier. Right now don�t try to manipulate any common threads or symbols. Just worry about writing this character�s story. Repeat this exercise for as many characters as you want to appear in your story. With each narrative, you will move forward in time. For your last narrative, use your main character from your first narrative. The ending is up to you. After you�ve written outlines (or freewrites) for each character, list any recurring images, symbols, or events. Those symbols, images, events will be the thread the pulls together each narrative. Sound challenging? It�s not as hard as it sounds. Don�t think too much. As you do your freewrites and outlining, write what comes to you. Don�t worry if it doesn�t make sense at first. Just write. And as always, have fun with it!
