Point of View

Throughout most of the novel, the point of view is that of its central character and protagonist, Dr. Norton Perina, who tells his story, in first person narration, through letters ostensibly written while he was in prison. Those letters were, in the novel, sent to Dr. Ronald Kubodera, a friend and colleague of Dr. Perina who, the narrative quietly implies, might be something more. The narrative also suggests, quite specifically and overtly (i.e. through Dr. Kubodera’s own first person narration that bookends the main body of the novel), that the content of Dr. Perina’s writing has been edited, and by Dr. Kubodera. In other words, Dr. Perina’s point of view is that of a so-called unreliable narrator, one whose stories cannot be entirely trusted because they are presented as having been shaped and edited by another.

This, in turn, relates to...