Perspective

The book is Anna's story and Anna telling the story of her family and what happened to them. She is telling the story in her own words in everyday vernacular, which adds to the realism of the story.The action of the novel takes place on two continents. The United States and China are both settings for the novel which opens at the Bunker Hills boarding house room of Joseph Shoene. After her marriage to Jack, Anna and her family lived in a South Pasadena apartment on Monterey Road for the first year of their marriage and then move to the bungalow she inherited from her mother. Gran also lives in South Pasadena. There are also scenes in restaurants and other places as the characters move around. Joseph at first settles in Carpentaria when he returns to the United States. The other major setting is in Shanghai. The...