Point of View

In Nothing Special, Flattery utilizes the first-person perspective to closely replicate, for the reader, Mae’s changing perspective of the world around her. Flattery narrates the events of the novel through Mae’s perspective; the reader gains direct insight into Mae’s view of the people, places, and situations around her. Importantly, this choice allows Flattery to replicate, in the reader, the ways in which Mae—during and after her time at the Factory—begins to adopt a different worldview. Mae’s attitude towards Shelley in particular acts as a microcosm of all her changing perspectives. Early in the novel, Mae notes, “Already, I admired her for refusing to accept her life. Already, I was amazed by her single-mindedness, by the force of her desire” (84). The use of the first-person point of view, here, encourages the reader to embrace Mae’s view of Shelley; the...