Narrative technique

The narrative technique used in "Cyprus Avenue" by Lucy Caldwell is unique in several ways. First of all, it is told by the extremely rare second-person narrator (the vast majority of short stories are either written in the first or the third person).  Secondly, it it written in the future tense (most other short stories are either written in present tense or past tense). 

These unusual narrative choices mark "Cyprus Avenue" as a postmodern text, as postmodern writers are characteristically fond of experimenting with the way their stories are told.  

Second-person narrator

The narrator of "Cyprus Hill" speaks of the main character using the second person pronoun 'you', making it seem like the narrator is directly addressing the main character. This perspective is quite unusual, as it is most typical for short stories to be told either directly by the main character (as a first-person narrator) or by some kind of third-person observer who may have more or less knowledge about the story that is unfolding.

The use of the second-person perspective also has the unique effect of...