Point of View

With the exception of the first vignette, "The Apartment," the novel is narrated through the first-person perspective of Andrea. The reader is subject to her deepest, most intimate thoughts and reflections on events surrounding her. Since the novel is presented through the present tense, even the passages set in the past, the reader is only subject to Andrea's most immediate thoughts. There is not much room for reflection, but the narration in the present tense provides for an immediacy that is urgent and stark, as Andrea is able to comment on events as they are unfolding, rather than being able to process and have some reflection.

The first vignette, "The Apartment," is presented from a second-person point of view. This allows for a confrontational tone, as Andrea seems to be confronting herself, talking to herself about the events going on in her life. The way...