Point of View

JoJo Moyes tells her novel "The Girl You Left Behind" from both the first and third-person limited-omniscient perspectives. The first part of the novel, set during World War II, is told by Sophie. This allows the reader to experience the terror of war on the civilian front firsthand, and to understand the things that Sophie feels through those struggles. The second part of the novel is told in the third-person perspective in the present tense, to secure in the mind of the reader the difference between the past and the present, and to help differentiate the stories. This also allows the reader to get to know Paul further, before Liv does. Additionally, both forms of narrative are told in the limited-omniscient perspective, which adds a sense of gentle suspense.

Language and Meaning

JoJo Moyes tells her novel "The Girl You Left Behind" in contemporary, casual...