Point of View

Red Clocks is written primarily in third person, with the one exception being the excerpts from Eivor's journal, which are written in first person. The narration switches between five separate points of view: that of Ro, Gin, Susan, Mattie, and Eivor. Each character possesses different mindsets, personality traits, and experiences, and the separate points of view communicate these differences. The women are each telling their own stories, but those stories are interwoven in ways that are both subtle and obvious. For example, we learn from the wife's point of view that Mattie is her babysitter, and is a polite, timid girl. Mattie and Susan's stories also intertwine because they both attend Gin's trial on the same day. Zumas uses the four contemporary women to tell one story through four stories; this is not just the tale of a modern day witch hunt, rather, it is...