The language of the novel is both formal and informal. There are characters in this novel who have little education outside of high school; therefore, they think and speak in a language that is simple and often filled with certain types of slang. On the other hand, there are characters in this novel who are highly educated and well read. These characters think and speak in a more formal language that is often punctuated with foreign phrases and quotes from literary works that might not be readily identified by readers. These people also use words that are specific to their trained field, such as Nora's use of archeological phrases.