Point of View

The limited-omniscient third person point of view narration rotates its focus among several characters throughout the novel. The Observer, Irina, Eleanor, Karl, Sam, and Louis are all given chapters in which the narration reveals the events through his or her perspective. Within the Observer’s chapters, the reader is given insight into other character’s minds because the Observer itself functions as a separate omniscient narrator.

Language and Meaning

The variation in syntax between chapters does not indicate that the narration of the chapter reflects the actual consciousness of the character on which the chapter focuses. Instead, Lennon uses the diction of each character during speech and when revealing their inner thoughts to create a separation between narrator and character. The tone of the narrator Lennon creates throughout the novel comes across as part expository and part curious, like the narrator is the narrating a...