Point of View

The novel employs an omniscient narration that shifts between the inner worlds of Richard and Britt. The introduction to each chapter, the reader later learns, is comprised of two excerpts from the writings of the young Florence, which have come into the possession of Britt. Other than these instances, Florence’s inner world is never narrated. Nor is that of the other main character Paddy.

Richard’s story begins when he is an old man, preparing himself to commit suicide. He is thinking back to various moments in his life and maintaining a running inner dialogue with an imaginary daughter, who has kept at age eleven for her entire existence in his mind. He explains that his friend Paddy was the person who suggested that he do this, take his imaginary daughter with him on excursions as he would he real – but not estranged – daughter...