Point of View

The author writes the novel from the third person point of view. By using an omniscient narrative perspective, he allows the reader to move between characters, scenes, and times with ease, the narrator acting as guide through each of these shifts. Because the narrative is fragmented, moving frequently from Barry's narrative to Helena's, the third person is capable of creating a sense of connection and continuity between their seemingly disparate experiences. While Barry and Helena's worlds do not merge until the end of Book Two, the constant voice of the third person narrator links them throughout.

In a narrative world where time, space, and memory are relative and illusory, the third person narrator grants a sense of order and stability. Though the characters are forever shifting between past, present, and future, the perspective remains fixed and reliable. Indeed the voice narrating Barry's section is indistinguishable...