Points of View

A Month in the Country is written in a first person narrative from Thomas Birkin's perspective. Throughout this, we are able to hear Birkin's thoughts and perspectives. The first person perspective allows the reader to see Oxgodby and the people there through Birkin's eyes as well as to see the painting he is uncovering through him. This allows the reader to identify with Birkin. The things he struggles with, unrequited love, failing relationships, past torments, and so on, are issues that most people deal with at one time or another. While Birkin's are unique to his character, these themes are a familiar part of human nature.

Carr focuses much of the book on Birkin's inner thoughts, particularly those as he works on the painting and ponders both it and its creator. The revelations about the painter, the lost grave, and the identity of the man damned...