...removing quotation marks around direct speech is not innovative or doing something daring with form. It's annoying and discourteous to the reader.
I know that makes me sound like the grammar police but punctuation serves a purpose.
You'll be reminded of its purpose when you read a novel like this that ostentatiously leaves out quotation marks. Your reading slows down. You have to work harder to know not just who is speaking but whether anyone is speaking.
This is the writing equivalent of Brexit: I can see what it destroys but I don't see any benefits or any compelling reason to do it.
Rant over. I'll go back to the book now. Which is quite good by the way.
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