Point of View

The novel is told from multiple perspectives, including first person, third person, and even second person points of view. A myriad of characters take turns controlling the narrative, while an omniscient third person narrator also narrates some chapters. Aside from the anonymous third person narrator, the novel is most commonly told from the perspectives of Philothei, Karatavuk, Iskander, and Drosoula. The multiple perspectives within the novel vary from juvenile to experienced, which creates a diverse narrative. As de Bernières includes viewpoints that differ in age, gender, religion, and more, he ultimately works to convey how different groups of people are all similarly affected by the war. Because the omniscient third person narrations are objective, they ask the reads to make their own observations of - and form their own opinions on - characters and events.

Many of the first person narrations are told from...