Point of View

Filthy Animals is written from the third person point of view. Over the course of the novel, this third person narrator shifts behind each of the main character's distinct lenses. In the chapters "Potluck," "Proctoring," "Apartment," and "Meat," the third person narration is limited to Lionel's perspective. In "Little Beast," the narrator follows Sylvia's experience. In "Flesh," the narrator inhabits Charles' consciousness. In "As Though That Were Love," the narration is limited to Hartjes' point of view. In "Filthy Animals," the narrator inhabits Milton's consciousness. In "Mass," the narrator follows Alek's story. In "Anne of Cleves," the third person narrator traces Marta's experience. In "What Made Them Made You," the narration is limited to Grace's vantage.

By writing the entirety of the novel from the third person point of view, the author is able to create cohesion and fluidity between each of the characters' disparate...