Point of View

The novel is narrated in the third-person, switching between the descriptions of Sade and Femi as well as the narration by Sam in his letters to Julia. The author places few limitations on the access to Sade's inner thoughts, allowing the reader to understand her true motivations and conflicts, though they are not always truthful with each other.

The narrator plays with the role of memory especially while Sade is discovering more about herself and simultaneously more about who she was when she lived in Nigeria and how she has changed.

Language and Meaning

Changes between descriptions of Sade and Femi are subtle because both siblings have such similar personality cues and perceptions of the world as well as responses to their mother's death and the subsequent fragmentation of the family structure.

The initial language of Sade's thoughts reflects the hopelessness and desperation to be...