Point of View

The Vanishing Half is written from a third person free indirect point of view. While the narrator at times assumes a more omniscient vantage point, commenting upon and describing the overarching narrative dynamics of the characters' collective experiences and world, she also often shifts into the consciousness of each of the novel's four main characters: Desiree Vignes, Stella Vignes, Jude Winston, and Kennedy Sanders. The malleability and adaptive nature of this narrative perspective, allows the author and reader intimate access to each of the protagonist's emotional and psychological journeys. Therefore, even when Desiree, Stella, Jude, and Kennedy are located in different physical locations, the point of view is able to inhabit each of their distinct lives and spaces.

If the point of view had been limited to a first person account, limited to just one of the women's voices, the author would not have been...