Point of View

The Bat is told from the point of view of a third person narrator. Although the narrator is omniscient, the focus is primarily on the book's main character, Harry Hole. The reader is privy to Harry's thoughts and feelings, but often not those of other characters, who are seen primarily through Harry's eyes. As such, essentially every scene includes Harry.

The reader learns things about other characters through him. However, one exception is Joe, the owner of the hotel to which Harry goes after being thrown out of his original hotel. When Harry arrives, drunk and disheveled, the author provides some background on Joe and his thoughts upon seeing Harry. This is an exception because for the most part other characters are seen only through Harry's view.

Language and Meaning

The Bat was written in Norwegian so the English version is a translation of the...