The most obvious thing that I noticed about Nicola Griffith's Slow River was the variance in storytelling styles. Not only are there three different storylines ( Lore's life with Spanner, her work at the purification plant, her childhood flashbacks ), but they are told in three different ways ( third person past-tense, first person past-tense, third-person present-tense ). It was incredibly jarring for me at first, as it went against everything grammar school had taught me about sticking to one style of narration and one time frame.