Point of View

Most of The Glorious Heresies is written using a close, third person narrator that occasionally falls into a form of free indirect discourse. This narration typically closely follows the consciousness of one of the main characters: Ryan, Tony, Maureen, Jimmy, or Georgie. The narration switches characters between chapters, generally following each character once within the larger, five-chapter sections. Some chapters, though, switch between characters to emphasize the parallels between the experiences of disparate people. For example, this mid-chapter switch occurs in the very first chapter, emphasizing the interconnectedness of Cork: as Ryan is birthed into his manhood, Robbie dies by Maureen’s hand.

Very occasionally, the narrator switches into a second person perspective. This generally only occurs when the character the narration had been following experiences a moment of intense emotion, such as when Georgie is raped by a john or when Ryan has a...