Perspective

The story was written in first person from the perspective of the author. What was unusual about this was that the author made a very brief appearance in the first chapter of book but did not appear again until near the end. The word "I" was used only early in the story and again late in the book, each time the author actually put in an appearance. Otherwise, the book was presented from the author's perspective from the limited viewpoint of her research into the lives of her grandparents. This research was accomplished with the memories, letters and other documentation discovered by the author. However, the reader should remain aware that these memories may have been less than reliable. For example, the author's mother recalled a less-than-ideal childhood. She remembered her mother as freely gambling and spending a great deal of time with men. These attributes may have...