Point of View

Cook writes from a third person point of view, which is limited to Agnes and Beatrice for most of the novel. As such, our perception of the plot is largely passed through the subjective lenses of the two female heroines—Bea in Parts I and III and Agnes in Parts VI through VII. Theirs are the only thoughts and feelings the reader is made privy to. This greatly impacts the reader's opinion of the other characters in the story, as it is impossible to form a nuanced opinion of any character other than Bea and Agnes. The Community does not talk about the past, and thus Bea and Agnes's back stories and characters are the only ones deeply developed in the novel.

Agnes and Bea sometimes have divergent opinions about the other members of the Community, which offers the rare chance to enrich the reader's...