To write or not to write (correctly)

I read a book last week that was written in perfect grammatical style.  I mean, every preposition was in place, every subject tense matched every verb tense.  Crystal would be proud!

But as I read it, I wondered several times if this was appropriate.  I mean, who really speaks this perfectly?  (Beside Crystal, I mean, and me, according to my husband.)  And if you don't speak this well, do you want to read immaculate grammar?


Statue at the Uffizi in Florence.

 Think back to the early works.  They were mostly written by the Church and they were all inaccessible.  One of the first works to be written in the vernacular was Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy.  (Written in Italian, Dante's work also made this a literary language  Later, when Italy chose an official dialect for their newly unified country (around 1871), the government chose the Florentine dialect--the language of Dante.

I love reading well-written works.  I enjoy and author who knows his proper English and uses it well.  But does it always fit the genre in which you are writing?

That's one part of this post.  The other is what I discovered about the author and the series I was reading last week.  The author is Michael Malone** and, on Wednesday, I finished First Lady.  Let me first say that this was the most wonderfully plotted mystery I have read in a long time.  The twists were truly surprising, often, and appropriate.  The characters were compelling, real, and likable--even when they weren't liked.  Then I began reading another Malone book in the same series (called 'Justin & Cuddy' after the main characters)...Time's Witness is not written in the most perfectly formed English at all!  And it's not because the author couldn't write when he wrote this one.  It's because this one is told from the viewpoint of Cuddy--the educated but country chief of police in the little North Carolina town of Hillston; whereas the first one I read, First Lady, was in the point of view of Justin Savile V--educated son of North Carolina royalty, gentry with poilitical ties.

So the author switches voice based on who is telling the story!  "Of course he does," you say.  BUT, I didn't know about the voices of other books when I read First Lady.  So, is this technique successful?  Knowing the entire picture, I like it and am impressed the author emersed himself so completely in the points of view of his characters.  But what about those who don't know the whole picture?

So...two parts to this one.
One: Does correct grammar fit every genre?  Should you ever sacrifice syntax for characterization?
Two: Does it work if the reader doesn't know?  Is a technique successful if it takes a while for the reader to get it?

*Thank you all for indulging in my self-indulgence last week.  I've truly enjoyed writing the blog and the interaction it brings.  So a little first birthday celebration was in order.  I loved reading all of your HBBlogfest entries, and I hope to participate in more blogfests in the future.  It always gets me writing!
**Malone's 'Justin & Cuddy' series is set in North Carolina and is fantastic!  I highly recommend it to all mystery readers.  Malone is a very talented writer.