comment on point of view

The novel is told from the point-of-view of five of the major characters: Isma, Eamonn, Parvaiz, Aneeka, and Karamat Lone. The author switches perspectives as a way to slowly deepen the reader's knowledge about events and provide greater understanding of the characters and their motivations. For example, though it is implied by both Isma and Aneeka (in her explanation to Eamonn), the reader is not told directly that Parvaiz joined ISIS; rather they are shown his recruitment and decision to go through his own eyes. Allowed access to his thoughts and reasoning, his pain at never knowing his father, and feelings of abandonment by his sisters, the reader can form a more sympathetic understanding of this choice.