VLVL2(1) Missed Communications: Beginnings

[Paul Nightingale]

For the moment I just want to deal with the opening pages to Zoyd's
conversation with Slide (3-5).

The opening chapter of the novel serves as an introduction to its
characters. A pretty obvious statement, perhaps. However, at this stage,
the reader has no idea which characters will be central/peripheral to
the narrative as it unfolds over three hundred pages or so. Zoyd appears
in the first line, his name juxtaposed to the date; the chapter goes on
to describe his adventures. Yet he will soon disappear from the
narrative and not return for a while. Zoyd's function as a character is
to lead us from the 'now' of the novel to 'the past'; at which point he
is marginalised. The narrative in Ch1 alerts us to Zoyd's status as a
character through what Tim has called "the motif of missed
communications".

To put it another way, Zoyd is always 'out of sync' with the narrative.
He wakens late, loses his dream and receives a message about a message.
His (preferred) breakfast has disappeared, and then he finds he's not in
control of his gig: "Check with who, I'm the one doing it, ain't I?" He
has been silenced when the TV station refuses to accept his press
release. By the end of the first page, therefore, we have discovered
that Zoyd, far from being the protagonist he thinks he is, has in fact
been "rescheduled" (which refers to both time and place).

At the same time, however, Zoyd might be thought guilty of
prevarication, a refusal to 'get into sync'. The first paragraph imparts
a lot of information, about the dream, about the letter, before ending
with: "Zoyd was out of smokes". His search for "smokable butts" delays
the phone call to the TV station. Introspection. Then, "smoking up half
a joint he'd found in his pocket" delays the purchase of the dress.
Speaking to Slide, he admits: "This year it snuck up on me" (although
we're told he "had been planning this for weeks"). Speaking to Slide,
Zoyd attempts to construct an alternative narrative, one that locates
him as protagonist, armed with "the element of surprise". However,
"Don't I?" is apparently added as an afterthought, and Slide refuses to
corroborate Zoyd's version of events.