How does the author ask the reader to think about the island in the novel, Knowledge of Angels?

The reader is asked to think about the island and what it looks like from above. This view would reveal orchards and towns, mountains and valleys. This vantage point would be more like what angels see rather than islanders, and the reader's position is compared to that of an angel who hovers above and sees everything. The time when this story is set is "the time of angels."