Point of View

The novel is written in the past tense and the limited third-person. Noah is the protagonist and the only point-of-view character, meaning Noah’s interiority is directly conveyed to the reader, while the internal lives of the other characters must be deduced via their words and actions. Because Noah is the protagonist and point-of-view character, his life and temperament are key to how the main narrative is framed. He is an elderly, recently retired man who values art, science, and history. He is generally patient and capable. Notably, at the beginning of the novel, he has almost no personal investment or attachment towards Michael, but as the story progresses, the two characters develop a deep familial bond towards each other. Noah’s perspective is thereby the main window into the emotional development of this bond.

Despite the fact that Noah is the only direct point-of-view...