What is the narrator point of view in the novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January?

This novel has three different narrators. The main portion of the novel, the chapters with the numerical titles, is narrated from the first-person point of view of January Scaller. Though the reader does not realize until the end of the novel, January is narrating her story to Samuel. For instance, She writes of the first Door she found: “When you see that word, I imagine a little prickle of familiarity makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up” (1). She is telling her story in the hopes that Samuel will regain his memory of their friendship and their love. Based on the premise of the novel, that January wants Samuel to remember her, there is no other way for her to tell her story than through her own voice.

The portions of the novel contained in the leather-bound book, the book that Julian wrote, are narrated by Julian in both the first-person point of view and the third person point of view. Julian describes in this aside why he prefers to tell his story in the third-person: “(You will permit me the continued cowardice of third-person narration, I hope; it is foolish, but I find it lessens the pain.)” (193). Julian writes that it is easier to tell his story when he does not try to tell it as if it is his story. Regardless, there are times that he slips into the first-person point of view.

The “Epilogue” of the novel is written from the third-person point of view. This chapter is written in the present tense as January visits Samuel in order to present to him the book that she has written, the one she hopes will jog his memories of her. The third-person point of view is necessary so that the narrator can record both January’s actions and thoughts as well as Samuel’s as he struggles to remember why January is so familiar to him.