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Fade is set in three places. Paul Moreaux lives in the Frenchtown part of Monument. He visits his nephew Ozzie, who lives in Ramsey, Maine. Later Meredith finds out that Ramsey is totally fiction and does not exist. The third place is New York, where Susan writes her part of Cormier's book.
It begins in the late 1930s when Paul discovers that he is able to "Fade". It is not said when Susan writes her part of the book, but Cormier wants it probably to be when Fade was first published (1988). It treats with several parts of time: 1.)Paul Moreaux's first contact with the "Fade".
2.) Moreaux (now Roget) feels that the new "Fader" begins to "Fade".
3.)Susan Roget's feelings and thinkings about Paul Moreaux's manuscript.
The book starts when Paul looks of the picture of his "Fading" uncle Adelard. He always loved that picture because he wants to know how his uncle could disappear. Everybody thinks that Adelard played a trick on them and nobody knows that he "Faded". Then it is getting more and more exciting because the reader wants to know, why Paul disappears. Then the first climax comes: Uncle Adelard tells Paul about the "Fade". It is again getting more and more gripping again till Paul kills the man. Then there is a lot of talk written by Susan. When Paul's manuscript starts, however, again it is getting better and better. It is interesting to read when schizophrenic Ozzie thinks of killing people and starts with vandalism in that small village, where he lives. The ultimate climax is when Paul fights with his nephew during they "Fade". The novel ends with Susan's questions if Paul's manuscript is fact or fiction.
Nearly the whole book is written of view of first person: Paul's and Susan's parts. Only when Cormier talks of Ozzie (in the book it's written by Paul) he changes into third person.
I do not exactly know what the author wants to tell us with his book. I am, however, sure that Cormier did it not out of love to money. No, he wrote it because he felt like it (inspiration). To earn money is an effect the author surely welcomes. Probably he wants to tell us that the most books (especially those by him) have got their truth in it. It is not only fiction, there is always a kind of fact. Perhaps he also wanted to write a kind of autobiographical book. The adult Paul for example also stays in the same town he has ever lived - the same like Robert Cormier. I do not, however, believe that Cormier is able to "Fade" (that would be ridiculous).
6.)My personal opinion
I am of the opinion that the book was one of the best I have ever read. Probably I like it because it is a kind of science fiction but not really science fiction because the ability to "Fade" is given by nature. I do not like all those crime stories or trivial literature so I hardly ever find a book I am really interested in. I also like that it is written in a style I understand but it also gives me some new vocabulary (for example the title of the book). The action of the novel is also quite good because everybody asks oneself anytime what he would do if he could make himself invisible. The author explains in a really good way that it would be not only advantageous for the person. No, it would be terrible because you would see and hear things that you really would not want to hear. What I like most were the ends of the two parts of the different parts [4.)style] and when Ozzie talks to his schizophrenic voice. The publisher wrote the voice's speeches in italic letters. I think the author wants to show with Ozzie's talks to himself that everybody has got a good and a bad voice. The mistake Ozzie made was to obey the bad voice.
I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to especially boys.
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