Point of View

The novel is divided between first-person and a series of transcripts from court hearings. Most of the first-person portions are from the perspective of Katharina Kepler. The majority of the novel is written as a diary of sorts. Early on, Katharina explains that her neighbor Simon is writing down a true account of her story. Later, Simon writes some of his own observations as well. When Katharina is in jail, her daughter Greta takes over writing down what Katharina dictates. The final few pages of the novel are strictly from Simon's view, a decade after Katharina's trial. All are addressed directly to the reader and are written with the assumption that someone would read it.

Aside from those sections that are written similar to a journal and a few letters, the novel consists of transcripts of those who testify against Katharina. Those sections are in...