Point of View

Two stories use third person, “The Lunatics’ Eclipse,” third person omniscient, and “The Sailor,” third person objective. They are both stories of misunderstanding: Qamar and Hilal misunderstand the moon and the wife in “A Sailor” misunderstands her own motives and shadow persona. Through the third person viewpoint, readers have a voyeuristic view into the character’s lives. The narrator is trustworthy, relaying the events from a birds-eye-view, and allowing the character’s misunderstandings of the world and themselves create a sympathy for the human condition.

Most of the short stories use the first person point of view, rooted in the intimacy of narrative storytelling and serving as first-hand accounts of events. Stories such as “Testimony of Malik, Prisoner #287690” and “A Frame for the Sky” bear witness not only to personal events but also to political upheavals that shake the character’s world. These upheavals often...