As we’ve discussed in class, Open City narrative tone is quite unique, with the plot often seeming pointless which allows the storyline to feel almost like a journal from Julius’s daily happenings. I’ve noticed that Cole uses various different methods to obtain this feel to the narrative. For example, when Pierre is telling Julius his life story in chapter 5, Cole writes the following:

“Pierre paused. Another customer, a balding businessman wearing a too-tight suit, came into the shop and, seemingly out of nowhere, a sullen young man appeared to clean his shoes. The businessman labored for breath. Pierre glanced over at his co-worked. He called out, You need to call Rahul about the schedule for next week. I’m off tomorrow, and I can’t do it. Then he rubbed my shoes down with a dry cloth and picked up a foot-long brush.”

Here, we see an almost meaningless interaction interrupting Pierre’s story. Novels are not real life, and there is no need for Cole to have created that interruption that served no purpose for the plot other than for the sake of invoking a certain feeling in the narrative. It almost makes Julius’s story feel like real life, how he journals his stories that contain real-life, pointless interruptions.