The Last House on the Street

Writing in the present tense gives a sense of immediacy while writing in the past tense lends itself to introspection. Chamberlain not only engages two first-person narrators but also uses two distinct narrative tenses, past and present, for the majority of the novel.

The book starts with Kayla as a first-person narrator telling her story in the present tense, aiming to immerse readers in the modern events. For example, when Buddy smokes a cigarette too close to his oxygen supply, he sets himself and his house on fire. Seeing the smoke and flames as she drives down the street, Kayla describes her efforts in the immediacy of the moment: “I hear the sizzle of water against the flames. […] I’m soaked and trapped beneath a very large, very ill man … […] In the distance, I hear sirens, already growing close…” (131). The present tense builds tension as it suggests that the character does not yet have a way out of the dangers that currently overwhelm them.

Conversely, when Ellie narrates her story, she uses the past tense. This narrative form builds in temporal distance, allowing for a greater depth of reflection and perspective. For example, when Ellie goes to the hospital to comfort Brenda after the loss of her husband and unborn child, Brenda demands that she leave immediately. As she turns to go, Ellie reflects on what has happened: “For a moment I froze in shocked silence. And then I did as she said. I went away. I left her, my once-upon-a-time best friend. She turned into someone I no longer recognized” (301). This tense use suggests that Ellie is narrating her past and now has perspective, emphasized by her use of the vague temporal marker of the past, “once-upon-a-time.” Her reference to the fact that Brenda “turned into someone I no longer recognized” also hints at continuity of this development between the event in the hospital and the present, reinforcing the sense that Ellie is reflecting on a past time with the knowledge of hindsight.