Is there a name for this sort of story structure?

[MrHereWriting]

The point is that the structure was such that the reader didn't know what genre they were in. Is there a name for that?

No, it wasn't.

 

[AG31]

Misread the question. Wouldn't that be a mosaic or delayed exposition structure?

Where did you learn about this kind of stuff?

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Where did you learn about this kind of stuff?

A curious mind and a good internet connection. I did a little research. I think it’s important to improving yor skill to be curious about what you’re doing and always assume there’s more to know. Good on you for asking and being open to all the feedback.

 

[Britva415]

The point is that the structure was such that the reader didn't know what genre they were in. Is there a name for that?

That doesn't seem to have as much to do with structure as with content. Because, any story of any genre could have any structure.

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

Normally I like the (non-erotica) books that I like because I enjoy spending time with the MCs. This works for literary fiction, thrillers, mysteries, whatever.

The other day I read a book that had me hooked by page 7, not because I liked the characters, they never did become vivid for me, but because I didn't know what the book was up to. Was it a romance? The MCs were divorced, was it a murder mystery? Part of it takes place before the murder(s). Part of it takes place during the week of collecting impact statements after ethe murder is caught. It's loaded with people and events whose important details aren't revealed until maybe a hundred pages after they're introduced.

In short, I kept reading because I wanted to know what it was about. I did skim the last third.

Is there a name for this sort of structure? I was hooked, yes, but I won't pick up one of her books again.

"Flashback overload?" It reminds me of the way the story was portrayed in "Pulp Fiction." The thing is, it's damn tough to pull that off, convincingly. Case in point: Pulp Fiction, which just hit me as disjointed. I oculd see what Tarentino was trying to accomplish. But that technique usually falls flat. Even Uma Thurman couldn't save it.

I stay away from that as much as I stay away from 2nd-person narrative. There are those that can pull it off. Niven and Pournelle would sometimes weave that into their stories, such as FootFall. They used it to show different time frames relative to the main story when switching points of view between one set of characters and another. But they didn't use it to convey the entire story!