Point of View

The novel’s narration is written in the third person. When the narration is recounting the events of February 15, 2003, the narration is written in the past tense. When the narration is recounting events from past days, it uses the past tense. This separation of tenses lends a sense of immediacy to the present-tense events while providing some chronological separation regarding previous events. Additionally, the use of the present tense encourages the reader to consider events from the characters’ specific historical perspective. The characters are occupying a specific day and specific time in history, and they must contend with much political uncertainty regarding world events. Thus, the use of the present tense encourages the reader to inhabit a similar mindset.

Although the narration is written in the third person, the perspective of the narration is limited to the perspective of the protagonist, Henry Perowne. Thus, at...