Point of View

The author writes the novel in alternating first and third person points of view. Lurie Mattie's first person narrative voice guides the sections titled with the names of places or territories. A third person narrator, living close behind Nora Lark's consciousness, depicts the Arizona Territory, Amargo sections. The exchange between these two narrators allows the author to explore a range of emotional, psychological, thematic landscapes. Though Lurie and Nora never interact, occupying different versions of the America West, their overlapping first and third person accounts allow the reader to experience both their stories with the same sense of immediacy at the same time.

Writing Lurie's sections from the first person also grants Lurie a different level of narrative authority than Nora holds in her sections. Unlike Nora, Lurie has the seeming agency to craft his story in his own words and voice. As a man...