Point of View

This Other Eden is written from the third person point of view. This third person narrator assumes an omniscient stance throughout the novel. In using an omniscient third person narration, the author is able to access a range of various points in history, various concurrent settings and events, and various characters’ internal and external experiences at once. Although the third person narrator indeed possess an extensive narrative reach, they largely avoid infusing or inflecting the narrative with their own opinions, interpretations, or assessments of the characters’ lives. To better understand this dynamic, the reader might refer to the opening line of Part I: “Benjamin Honey—American, Bantu, Igbo—born enslaved—freed or fled at fifteen, only he ever knew—ship’s carpenter, aspiring orchardist, arrived on the island with his . . . bag of tools—gifts from a grateful captain he had saved from drowning or plunder...