I am currently reading Model Home and I've noticed a lack of quotations for both the narrator and other characters in the book. I remembered seeing a post on some book subreddit saying how hard it was to read the book because it didn't have quotations. I don't remember the book being referenced, I only registered it because I had just read The Road, and I noticed the author didn't use them. *I know The Road is an older book.
I haven't taken an English or writing course since college. I still double space before a new sentence.
Is this something new? Is it something I'm just noticing now? What other books use this "no quotation" method?
Please and thank you
by misspink033
2 Comments
Funny you mention The Road. I noticed this as part of Cormack McCarthy’s style and assume lack of quotations for dialogue is mimicking that. The vast majority of books still use quotation marks for dialogue. You can drop double spaces before a new sentence though, unless you’re on a typewriter or something.
Sally Rooney has become infamous for not using quotation marks in her dialogue. Considering she tends to write stories about complex relationships between complex people, she feels that excluding quotation marks serves the intention of blurring the lines between inner monologue and direct dialogue between the characters. To her, it’s more organic and to include quotation marks would be disruptive.