Point of View

The novel is told from Andrew’s perspective, as he is recounting major events of his life to a psychotherapist. Despite the fact that he is narrating his own life, Andrew sometimes switches between first-person narration and third-person narration. The narrative is constrained to the domain of Andrew’s perspective and memories. In addition, Andrew tends to focus mostly on traumatic or troubling events from his past, as psychotherapeutic exercises generally rely on the exploration of such traumas. Thus, as the narrative progresses, the reader gains an increasingly deeper understanding of Andrew’s perspective and the events that helped to shape it. His cognitive science background, along with the many tragedies he has experienced, have fostered obstacles to Andrew’s personal happiness. Andrew struggles to find meaning not only in his own suffering, but also in the ideas of human consciousness and existence in general...