Point of View

The novel is told from the third-person point of view. The narration primarily follows the main character, Shadow Moon, and is limited to his experiences and thoughts. Shadow learns the truth behind the gods' war by bits and pieces throughout the novel. At times, when the narration shifts to another character, such as Bilquis in the first chapter, it reveals another character's perspective that may provide information that Shadow does not know. Once good example is when Wednesday meets the god who cannot be named. The narration covers their conversation through a third-person limited view, but Shadow is not present at that time so does hear the exact discussion.

At times, the narration shifts to the past, mostly with entries from Mr. Ibis's collection of stories about the arrival of gods to America. These stories are contained within the chapters, and are prefaced by a heading...