Does the author state her/his purposes overtly? If so, copy the purpose in your journal and tell how well you think he/she is/does achieve it.

I finished Good Omens and am now reading Alive by Piers Paul Read.

Alive is the story of the survivors of a plane crash in the Andes in 1972. It was a plane of 45 people, consisting of an Uruguayan rugby team and their family members, along with just a few people that the team didn't know but brought along to lower the cost of the flight for everyone. Piers Paul Read does not seem to have much of a role in the story so far; he does not state why he is writing it, nor does his voice show prevalently in the retelling. His purpose is not overt, however the purpose of the sixteen survivors is stated at the beginning.

"We decided that this book should be written and the truth known because of the many rumors about what happened in the cordillera. We dedicate this story of our suffering and solidarity to those friends who died and to their parents who, at the time when we most needed it, received us with love and understanding.

Pedro Algorta, Roberto Canessa, Alfredo Delgado, Daniel Fernández, Roberto Francois, Roy Harley, José Luis Inciarte, Alvaro Mangino, Javier Methol, Carlos Páez, Fernando Parrado, Ramón Sabella, Adolfo Strauch, Eduardo Strauch, Antonio Vizintín, Gustavo Zerbino

Montevideo, October 30, 1973"

That was the survivors' goal for the book: to quell any and all rumors so that the world would know the truth about their plane crash in the Andes. I wish I knew how they came into contact with Piers Paul Read. I wonder what his interests in the story were. He doesn't tell anything about himself. Maybe later on in the book he will start to talk more about himself and his reasons for deciding to write this book.