What is the author's tone in the novel, Swami and Friends?

Even though the novel is written from a child’s perspective, the language used in Swami and Friends tends to be quite formal and elaborate. This applies to both the written narrative itself and, to a lesser extent, the dialogue. There is obviously a marked shift in the tone of dialogue depending on the speakers. So, for instance, Swami speaks with his friends and they speak with him using simpler, more informal language than they use with the adults of their lives, and that the adults use with each other.