Point of View

The point of view of the novel is third person. The entire novel is told through the point of view of Paul, who, though he does have insightful things to say about people around him, is an utterly unreliable character. The point of view of the novel is important because it is a semi-autobiographical work, and the author is relating experiences that he has had through the character Paul. Thus, all of the reader's knowledge and understanding of Paul's world is filtered through Paul. This can be a drain on the reader from time to time, as the novel does not follow the typical progression of a story. Paul's emotional immaturity and inability to produce meaningful action can become quite heart-wrenching, even, because it becomes clear through his own point of view that he just barely experiences life at all. The story is told mostly...