# Novels in the Second Person **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214 "2001-12-06T13:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/1 "2001-12-06T13:39:43Z")
The majority of novels seem to be written in the third person (_John saw the approaching light of dawn, creeping like a drunkard over the toilet bowl of the horizon…_), while less are written in the first person (_My head hurt, and the small devil with the pitchfork, dancing on my eyeballs told me that I was in for a rough day_). Has there ever been a novel (more than experimental, so some degree of success/acclaim/noteworthy-ness) that was written entirly in the **second** person? Gp ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/2 "2001-12-06T14:01:13Z")
We were discussing something like this not too long ago. _Bright Lights, Big City_ by Jay McInerney is written entirely in the second person, and now that I’ve finally read it (I started a book discussion thread on it a couple of weeks ago that went nowhere), I can say it’s not bad. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/3 "2001-12-06T14:02:20Z")
> [@](#): > > _John saw the approaching light of dawn, creeping like a drunkard over the toilet bowl of the horizon…_ Why was John creeping over the horizon like a drunkard? 😉 😛 Okay, I learned about second-person in elementary school; but that was a long time ago and I don’t remember it. Besides, I haven’t finished my coffee yet. Can you give an example of second-person? ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/4 "2001-12-06T14:03:15Z")
Aren’t a lot of those Goosebumps-style kids’ novels written in second person? Especially the “choose-your-own-ending” genre. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/5 "2001-12-06T14:06:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*Okay, I learned about second-person in elementary school; but that was a long time ago and I don’t remember it. Besides, I haven’t finished my coffee yet. Can you give an example of second-person? \*\* “You wander down the dark, dank corridor. Behind you are footsteps, getting faster, drawing ever closer. Before you what looked like a faint point of light is now a red light - now two red lights. Two red lights like glowing coals - these are eyes! You are a terrified. You feel sweat run down your back. So you falter, stumble, and suddenly trip down a huge hole that just appeared, because of a massive inspiration deficit on the part of the author, for whom you feel nothing but profound irritation at putting you in this hopeless situation in the first place, when had it been up to you, you wouldn’t have started reading this stupid damn book anyway.” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/6 "2001-12-06T14:06:31Z")
[Here’s the previous thread I was thinking of](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=96066). As I recall, there are at least a couple more titles mentioned there. On the off chance that you get inspired to go off and read _Bright Lights_, [here’s the book discussion I started](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=101159). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/7 "2001-12-06T14:32:04Z")
Thanks, **istara**. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/8 "2001-12-06T15:02:09Z")
Italo Calvino’s **If on a winter’s night a traveller** (the first letter of each word is not capitalized in the title) is written partly in second person. (The chapters alternate between second and third person.) ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/9 "2001-12-06T15:45:25Z")
I remember reading a David Gerrold sf novel once which was in second person. Damned if I can remember the title though… ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/10 "2001-12-06T16:02:20Z")
Second person would seem to work better for interactive fiction, like video games (Baldur’s Gate springs to mind). I don’t recall reading any second person novels, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/11 "2001-12-06T19:48:34Z")
**istara** , you’re thinking of the [“Choose Your Own Adventure”](http://www.netaxs.com/~katz/game/cyoalist.htm) books. They are indeed written in the second person. I would consider them to be “interactive fiction” in a novel form–you make choices at certain points in the story and then turn to a certain page to continue the story. Unfortunately, according to the page I linked to, not only are they not writing these anymore, the entire series is out of print! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/12 "2001-12-06T20:25:41Z")
IIRC, _Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas_ was all second person. I thought it was a horribly crafted and developed book, but it definitely fits the “literary novel” criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/13 "2001-12-06T21:23:41Z")
_Aura_, by Carlos Fuentes. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/14 "2001-12-06T23:44:09Z")
I wonder when the first second-person story came out. A pretty famous (and pretty funny) one is a short story by Brian Aldiss, c. 1958, called “Poor Little Warrior!” On second thought, I suspect that the second person is a lesser used but nevertheless occasional device used from time immemorial. But man, that Aldiss story was cool! ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/15 "2001-12-07T07:34:55Z")
There was a (possibly non-fiction) novel about surviving polio called **RISE UP AND WALK** , which was _not only_ written entirely in the 2nd Person, but was in the _present tense!_ E.g.: “You notice another lad in the hospital bed next to yours. He is the youngest, and polio has only brushed him very lightly.” ---
**Author:** ![k.os](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@k.os](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k.os)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/16 "2001-12-07T07:47:55Z")
A saga I read when I was younger is now published online. It’s one of those gamebooks in which you read numbered paragraphs depending on your decisions. You can find it [here](http://www.lw-oasis.org/aon/). It’s Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf saga, and the site is publishing it legitimately. It brought back memories! ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/17 "2001-12-07T08:02:03Z")
As has been mentioned, I think _Bright Lights, Big City_ is the most famous example of this. I seem to recall that _The Businessman_ by Thomas M. Disch, the author of _the Brave Little Toaster_ and _Camp Concentration_, was written with a second person POV. It was pretty freaky since the main character dies halfway through the book. ---
**Author:** ![Taste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Taste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taste)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-in-the-second-person/97214/18 "2001-12-07T09:15:57Z")
Duh, Stephen King’s _Cycle of the Werewolf_ was written in 2nd. As long as you mean that everything happens in present-tense.