Point of View

Madeleine Roux tells her novel “Sanctum” from the third-person limited-omniscient point of view. While the novel primarily follows the actions and movements of Dan, the third-person point of view allows the reader to follow the actions and movements of others, including Warden Crawford. This is done through memories of Crawford, all told in the third-person point of view. The third-person narrator thus becomes the common unifying thread between the past and the present, and allows the reader to shift back and forth as needed with ease. The limited-omniscient aspect of the novel allows the reader to know only as much as the characters of the novel do, or as much as Roux is willing to reveal. This limited knowledge creates a sense of suspense and realism, essential to the novel’s genre.

Language and Meaning

Madeleine Roux tells her novel “Sanctum” in language that is...