Point of View

The novel is narrated in the first person from the point of view of the protagonist, Vivian Lawlor. Due to Vivian's nature, as someone with a very naive and child-like view of the world, things which are often overlooked and considered unimportant, such as how numbers look and what street names sound like, are described in great detail. Inanimate objects are given almost a character status as Vivian navigates the world, and yet interactions with other people more often than not result in misunderstanding and even hostility. No matter what happens in her day-to-day life, though, Vivian remains true to her mission of finding a way to access the world she feels she belongs to, and in turn that becomes the thing which ultimately drives every thought and action.

Language and Meaning

A large proportion of the novel is spent dissecting and examining the nature...