Point of View

Blake Crouch tells his novel “Wayward” from the third-person limited-omniscient perspective. This is done for at least three primary reasons. The first is that the third-person allows a common voice – a unifying thread – to tie together different characters and different aspects of the plot, making the plot easier to understand for the reader. Secondly, the third-person allows Crouch to explore different characters, situations, places, and events throughout the novel, thus expanding the plot. Finally, the limited-omniscient perspective allows the reader to know only as much as the characters in the novel themselves do, and allows reader to learn things only as those characters learn them. This adds to the mystery and suspense of the novel, which is, after all, a thriller.

Language and Meaning

Blake Crouch tells his novel “Wayward” in language that is simple, brief, and straightforward. This is done for two reasons, primarily...