Point of View

The Nightingale uses two different points of view. The chapters that are set in 1995 when Vianne is an old woman are told from the first person point of view of Vianne and are in the present tense. They include only her thoughts and what she sees and hears immediately around her. The author's choice to us two different perspectives is effective in hiding the identity of the elderly woman until the end of the novel. In fact, the elderly woman's thoughts frequently lead the reader to believe she might be Isabelle rather than Vianne. Using the present tense to tell this portion of the story brings a modern feel to the chapters and makes the action in them more immediate to the reader.

The majority of the story, which occurs in France during World War II, is told from the third person omniscient point of...