Point of View

The narrative uses Alice's first person perspective. This is appropriate because the book chronicles the challenges Frank and his family experience. In order to delve into issues that the characters try to bury, a curious outsider needs to come in and ask the questions that reveal the backstories and thus piece together the current day behaviors. This is what Alice does. The structure of the novel supports her role with each part of her revelation having a title.

What makes things more interesting is that Alice has her own insecurities. Since she gets drawn in by Xander and is in constant conflict with Mimi, she is not an objective observer. Her issues become entangled with theirs, making her an unreliable narrator at times. She even says so herself when she and Xander brush by each other. "Xander turned just as I passed him and our...