Point of View

This novel is told from the point of view of an omniscient, third person narrator. Even though the focus of the novel is mostly on Harry, other characters including Mathias and Arve are also of focus. The character of focus changes as the author pieces together the story. The most dramatic example of this comes in Chapter 1 and Chapter 33. Both these chapters tell the story of the same day but from different points of focus. Chapter 1 is told with a focus on Sara’s thoughts and emotions as she went to see her boyfriend the last time before he moved away. Chapter 33 is the same story, but it is told from the focus of Mathias, Sara’s son, whom she left in the backseat of her car while was sleeping with her lover.

Language and Meaning

The reader should keep in mind that this novel...