What is the narrator point of view in the novel, Today Will Be Different?

The novel uses different points of view at different points in the narrative in order to slowly reveal the central character of Eleanor Flood as an unreliable narrator. The novel begins in the first person from Eleanor’s perspective giving the opening section the tone of a confessional: Eleanor is taking the reader into her confidence to reveal the truth of her life: “The sad truth? The beast in me plays out on a painfully small scale: regrettable micro-transactions usually involving Timby, my friends, or Joe. I’m irritable and consumed by anxiety when I’m with them; maudlin and shit-talking when I’m not.” (8) Because much of Eleanor’s initial narration is self-critical and negative, this leads to the impression that Eleanor is being honest and presenting the reader with the unvarnished truth about her life.

However, as the narrative continues, Eleanor’s narration leaves holes that make it apparent to the reader that she is not being entirely truthful, leaving many unanswered questions: why does she remain friends with Syndey Madsen if she can’t stand her? Why does she steal someone’s keys? Why hasn’t she told Timby that she has a sister?

The rare moments in the narrative told from other characters’ perspectives start to build up a picture of Eleanor as an unreliable narrator: Bucky tells Eleanor that her estrangement from Ivy is her own fault although the reader is given no sense of how this could be so. Sydney Madsen arrives and is kind and compassionate in sharp contrast to the way Eleanor has portrayed her. In the extended section told from Joe’s perspective, the reader is given an insight into a how Eleanor’s self-interest and lack of empathy for other people’s perspectives is harming her marriage. Ultimately, the novel is a message not to take people’s stories at face value, showing how even a narrator aping a confessional tone can be hiding the true complexities of the situation from the reader and from herself.