Point of View

The point of view differs wildly in Koch's novel from person to person and section to section. The predominant narrator is Herman, using an unusual (and, at first, anonymous) second-person narration. M, in his sections, employs a third-person limited narrator in the present tense, while Laura's story is told through a third-person limited narrator in the past tense. Jan Landzaat uses a third-person limited narrator in the present tense, as does Ana. The change in style of narration creates a distinctive sense of shift from narrator to narrator, and none of the narrators are (for various reasons) reliable.

Language and Meaning

This book is translated from the Dutch to English, which means that not all of the words chosen are a direct or even appropriate translation. Some of the word choices, most likely because of the translation, are oddly chosen, and there are a number...