Point of View

The work's shifting points of view are among its most noteworthy characteristics, with each of its major sections being narrated by a different character - Chi-hon (daughter of the missing woman), Hyong-chol (son of the missing woman), Father (husband of the missing woman), and Mom (the missing woman herself). In the Epilogue, the narrator is once again Chi-hon, a fact that, when combined with the subject matter of the Epilogue, suggests thematic resonances related to the book's contemplation of the nature of identity (see "Themes"). A particularly interesting aspect of these shifts in narrative is that both Chi-hon and Father write in the first person, but refer to themselves in the third person - "I did this" or "I said that" becomes "You did this" or "You said that", "you" in this case referring to the speaker. The sense here is almost of accusation, of blame...