Point of View

From the foreword and other first-person pronouns interspersed throughout the novel, it is clear The Latecomer is narrated by a member of the Oppenheimer family. This person turns out to be Phoebe. Phoebe’s identity is kept hidden for plot purposes since her arrival marks a significant turn in events. Having the story told by an unnamed first-person narrator adds a layer of mystery to the novel, as the reader wonders who could possess such insight into the Oppenheimers’ lives.

While Phoebe is technically a first-person narrator, her insight into all the characters' innermost thoughts makes her seem like an omniscient one. Phoebe establishes her role as her family’s storyteller in the foreword: “And then they were eighteen, and not just leaving home but desperate to begin three permanently separate adult lives, which is exactly what would have happened if the Oppenheimer family hadn...