Point of View

The author makes sophisticated use of point of view in this novel. Indeed, it is sometimes difficult to know who is narrating the story, or through whose eyes certain events are being witnessed. Rather than a mistake or a shortcoming, this manipulation of viewpoint is evidence of Tim Winton's command of his material. His employment of several ghostly or paranormal elements in the plot enables him to tell some of the story from the viewpoint of a character beyond this world, who the reader recognizes must be a part of the consciousness of a living character in the book, Fish Lamb. On a few occasions, Winton breaks out of the omniscient narrator's voice to speak directly to the reader, addressing him or her as "you." Sometimes, readers might be uncertain whether they are being addressed by the author or by the character through whom the author...