Point of View

Like many novels, Etta and Otto and Russell and James is written in the third person omniscient point of view. This means that the author writes the story using third person pronouns such as "she" and "he." The author also has insight into what the characters are thinking, which makes it an omniscient view, as opposed to a limited view where only the activities of the characters are reported. For example, the author writes, "Etta didn't want Otto to see her leaving, which is why she left so early, so quietly. But she didn't mind about Russell. She knew he couldn't keep up with her even if he wanted to." The author could have just said that Etta left early in the morning before Otto got up. But she chose to add some insight into what Etta's thoughts are on the morning of her departure...