Point of View

The novel is told entirely from the point of view of Selin, a young Turkish-American woman living who lives in New Jersey before the novel begins. Batuman makes free use of her perspective as a narrator to introduce moments of insight, emotional depth, and often comedy to the narrative.

Selin's interactions with Ivan often involve him talking a lot more than her, but, because she is the voice of the narrator, we hear all the thoughts that she will not put into words. After he gives his account of Dostoevsky, for instance, she remains silent, but thinks to herself that he has said a terrible thing. Likewise, when Selin meets Ivan's friends at the barbecue in Hungary, she barely speaks to them but instead suffers internally.

Batuman also makes regular use of dream sequences, which we naturally have access to thanks to the role of...