Point of View

“Three Years” is told through third person omniscient narration. Its focus frequently shifts from character to character, often within chapters. This provides the reader with a glimpse into the lives of Laptev’s friends and lovers, enabling us to understand the protagonist’s world better.

This narration style remains consistent throughout the novella. Changes in perspective are marked by new paragraphs and are easily identifiable. While the narrator mostly focuses on relaying Laptev’s point of view, the reader does also get a decent sense of the motivations of those closest to him. One example of a shift in perspective occurs at the beginning of Chapter 9. The narrator says, “Laptev lived in one of the lanes off Malaya Dmitrovka, not far from Stary Pimen. Besides the big house on the street, he also rented the two-story wing in the yard for his friend Kochevoy, an...