Point of View

Jean Hegland tells her novel Into the Forest in the first-person reflective, limited-omniscient perspective from the point of view of Nell. When the novel begins, Nell explains she is writing in a notebook given to her as a gift by Eva, in which Eva has encouraged Nell to record their experiences and their story through the collapse. As Nell undertakes such a diary of events, it is only natural that she write in first-person about the experiences which she herself has personally participated. Much of the early part of the novel is a mix of past and present events, usually told after they occur – whether by minutes or by years. As such, the novel employs reflective and wistful language. The same is true later in the novel, when events recorded have often happened within hours of their being recorded. Consider, for example, when Nell yearns...