Comment on point of view

The point of view of Heaven, My Home is third-person limited omniscient. The narrative is told in past-tense, but from a time soon after the action took place, not far in the future. The novel features interludes during which Darren reflects on moments from his childhood which almost always feature his uncles William and Clayton. The prologue is the only section of the novel that deviates from this point of view: it is told from Levi King's perspective, although it is told from a limited omniscient, recent past-tense. In the context of the novel as a whole, the prologue is significant because it is the only part of the narrative told from a white perspective. Further, it contains the action that triggers the hard-boiled crime aspect of the novel: the reader learns of the disappearance intimately, from the victim’s perspective, without the protagonist of the novel, Darren, present. This is a traditional set up for mystery, crime, and noir genres: a modicum of dramatic irony that allows for the reader or viewer to engage in the narrative.