A Long Walk to Water
by Linda Sue Park

A Long Walk to Water: Style 1 key example

Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis:

In A Long Walk to Water, perspective shifts and lively prose bring the characters’ stories onto the page. Among its most notable stylistic features is its use of dual narratives. The novel trades in different perspectives, alternating between Nya and Salva—Dinka and Nuer, 2008 and 1985—in a showcase of South Sudan’s complex ethno-political landscape. Across the 23-year gap, the novel places Nya’s struggle to find water beside Salva’s peril-ridden journey across Sudan. Its double stories frame the conflict and country in a new light.