Point of View

With the notable exception of “Johnny and Bridget,” Lewis uses the third-person omniscient perspective throughout Ghosts of New York in order to democratize the narrative importance of each character. The novel is, ultimately, an account of the lives of New Yorkers, as well as the ways in which those lives become intimately and inextricably intertwined. By using the third-person omniscient perspective through a majority of the novel, Lewis creates a structural similarity between the chapters that further places the character within a common, shared world. Just as they walk the same streets and avenues in Manhattan, the characters occupy the same narrative perspective in Lewis’ novel. In turn, the third-person perspective allows Lewis to accentuate the impermeability of individual lives. Throughout the novel, characters find that, despite their deep involvement in one another’s actions and fates, they are unable to fully comprehend the mysteries...