An important technique in the novel is one of distancing the reader from both the narrator and the characters.

The characters lack the depth and complexity of such characters as Latha Bourne or Daniel Montross, and the narrator, who appears to be once again the same as Dawny/Donald in Lightning Bug (1970) and "G" in Some Other Place. The Right Place. (1972) is so distant that the reader never learns his name. Such distancing permits a broad scope — in this case a history of a family and a community that spans over 130 years. It encourages comic distortion by emphasizing one distinct trait to distinguish character. Harington's use of Ozark folklore, especially that associated with the tall tale adds another element to the comic effect of distancing.

The use of the Ozark tall tale leads to other effects. One is implied in the quotation from Frank Lloyd Wright that...