103 pages • 3 hours read
Pseudonymous BoschThe Name of This Book Is Secret
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Prologue-Chapter 1.5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Prologue Summary: “Warning: Do Not Read Beyond This Page”
The Prologue begins with large white text on a black page: “WARNING: DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS PAGE!” On the next page, the narrator cautions that this book contains a dangerous secret. He warns of the peril that could come from reading the book; nevertheless, he invites the reader to continue.
Chapter 1 Summary
Chapter 1 comprises two pages written entirely in Xs, indicating redacted content.
Chapter 1.5 Summary: “Apologia”
The narrator apologizes for the previous chapter, explaining that he had to obscure its contents to prevent the reader from learning any expository details. Although this is a story about a secret, it’s also a “secret story” (5), and so the narrator cannot divulge any revealing details, not even the characters’ names and descriptions or the story’s setting. Instead, he gives his characters false names and establishes the setting in vague terms like “Your Hometown,” “Your School,” “Your Street,” etc., to give the reader something to picture while withholding any revealing details. At the end of the chapter, he answers the question that he assumes is on the reader’s mind: Why write the story if it’s so dangerous? Because, the narrator says, “I can’t keep a secret. Never could” (8).
Prologue-Chapter 1.5 Analysis
The novel opens with a direct address from the author to the audience, establishing a fourth-wall break that will become a defining feature of the narrative’s style. Prior to Chapter 1, there are no page numbers; this distinguishes the Prologue from the narrative, thereby reinforcing the idea that the narrator and reader exist in a space outside the normal bounds of a fictional account. The effect of this is a double narrative, or a double-framing: Readers are aware of the events in the story, but they are also aware of being outside them, of belonging to another, insular narrative in which they are an active participant. This is the external frame, in which the only characters are the narrator and the reader. Chapters 1 and 1.5, to this end, structure the double-framing before the main narrative begins. The double-framing also contributes to the novel’s interactive aesthetic, which becomes significant as the senses emerge as a motif.
This effect is reinforced by the fact that the narrator provides no concrete details about the setting, “for your own protection as well as mine” (6). This further reinforces the intrigue, mystery, and apparent danger of the story. However, the lack of worldbuilding details only further entrenches the reader in the narrative, as the narrator urges them to picture it as “YOUR school, YOUR street” (7). This allows the reader to take on an additional role, to see themselves in the story. Although readers already have the role of “reader” carved out for them, within the double-framing, they are also encouraged to relate to Cass and Max-Ernest as they would relate to characters in any other story, reinforcing their dual role as Reader (character) and reader (themselves).
