Point of View

The novel is told from the third-person limited omniscient point of view with very limited authorial intrusion. Consequently, readers see everything through Lib's eyes. She is a reliable narrator in the sense that her perspective is true as she sees it (the narrator does not willfully lie about anything she sees or thinks, although there are many things about which her thoughts change through the novel) However, her perspective is subjective. Further, it is informed first by her outsider status--British and Protestant--and secondly by her suspicion of Anna and her family. As the novel continues and Lib learns more about Anna and the culture of the village, her interpretations become more accurate. For example, throughout most of the novel, Lib is very clear that she has no patience for God or religion, but when Anna tells her what Pat did to her, "Lib found herself...