Point of View

The first section of the novel, “Folly,” is written in the close third person, from Alice’s point of view. Therefore, although the section’s main focus is a relationship between two people, that relationship is filtered entirely through Alice’s perspective. Although Halliday frequently conveys Alice’s interior thoughts, it is not usually for extended passages – much of the development of this section instead occurs through dialogue.

The novel’s second section, “Madness,” is written in the first person, from Amar Jaafali’s point of view. The section alternates between the present action of Amar’s detention at Heathrow Airport and his memories from childhood and early adult life. In this section Halliday conveys much more of Amar’s interior thoughts and commentary than she does for Alice in the first one.

The third section of the novel, “Ezra Blazer’s Desert Island Discs...