Point of View

Chris Cleave tells his novel Everyone Brave is Forgiven in the third-person, omniscient, narrative mode. The third-person narrator allows Cleave to tell his novel in chapters that primarily focus around one or two individuals, who are often thousands of miles apart, one at a time. This allows the reader to follow parallel lives of major and minor characters, as well as how the lives intersect or join with others. The third-person narrator acts as a common unifying voice, tying together various interconnected but diverse stories into a single tapestry. For example, in the chapter dated December, 1940, events of Alistair’s posting on Malta are shared. In the next chapter dated January, 1941, Mary and Hilda are back home trying to figure out what their next step in life will be following Tom’s death.

The third-person narrator also allows the reader a God’s eye view...