Point of View

The point of view in this novel changes a few times in order to accommodate all the different versions of Tom telling the story. For the most part, the narration is in first person, told from Tom Barren’s point of view (though there are multiple versions of Tom Barren, most of the story is narrated by the Tom Barren who travels to the past and alters the future). Tom is also the fictional author of this story, and he frequently makes reference to his writing style or lack of writing talent.

Occasionally, the narration switches to third person. This is used either to indicate Tom’s exploration into different writing styles or a passage Tom took directly from John Barren’s journal. There is one chapter in which John (or possibly Victor) takes over as the narrator. While this section remains in first person...