Welcome to Nightvale written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor is based on the wildly well known podcast of the same title which grew in popularity in the summer of 2013. “Night Vale” tells the story of two citizens of the city- Jackie and Diane (and her son Josh)- and their intertwining lives. The city of Night Vale provides endless oddities, conspiracies, and ever changing settings that cause the reader to examine the many differences to our own reality .
Welcome to Night Vale is very unique in the way it addresses subjects, giving it an extremely surreal tone. Often the author will personify inanimate objects in order to make them appear living, which is immediately able to give the reader a slightly uncomfortable feeling as if something is not entirely right. For instance, throughout the novel, the protagonist is in possession of a piece of paper which is repeatedly referred to as a speaking, thinking, conscious object.”’KING CITY’ said the paper,’ implies that this slip of paper has audibly said these words, perhaps in a response to someone in a conversation, despite this being entirely impossible. One of the protagonists also aids this
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This novel was so incredibly out there with its tone, characters, and setting that any attempt to even slightly recreate something along the lines of it would be futile, and most likely blatantly not as good. Rare is it to find a book so unconcerned with the “rules” of fictional writing, especially one that is so well written and and successful in its excursions from conformity, causing the reader to be constantly questioning their views on reality and existence and of things that we only ever acknowledge as mysteries. There is a great existential tone throughout “Night Vale” that is perhaps perfectly represented through this quote: “Your existence is not impossible, but also not very