comment on structure

The novel is not presented in chronological order. Ling, a woman who has recently retired from her position on the Malay Supreme Court, narrates the main storyline. The majority of this line of the novel is her current situation and this part of the story occurs in the present tense. The rest of the novel is her effort to write down her memories. This recounting becomes increasingly important as she struggles with the knowledge that a neurological disease means she will eventually lose the ability to communicate at all. These memories occur in past tense. This differentiation in tense is vital to keeping track of the timeline.