Shadow Boxer has an unusual structure. It is a novel, with a single narrator, continuing characters, and a loose plot, yet the style remains somewhat disjointed. By themselves the chapters often read like individual short stories and in many cases could stand well on their own. The structure resembles a mosaic, with separate pieces coming together to produce a whole that may not be cohesively formed until the reader "fills in the blanks" between the various episodes.

George's first-person narrative is plainspoken as he relates the events in a frank voice.

Only one chapter, "Footsteps in the Dark," reveals events that occur when George is not present. He describes the scene, saying that Ma and Archie "shared this story with me"—a rather clumsy narrative device. In later novels such as Gypsy Davey and Whitechurch, Chris Lynch switches freely between the first- and third-person narration...