Point of View

Barn 8 is narrated by an omniscient narrator who provides the reader with information about the thoughts and feelings of several main characters, along with the occasional dip into the consciousness of a hen called Bwwaauk. The narrator is not only omniscient about the characters' present situations, but about their pasts and futures as well. The novel begins with Janey's perspective, and throughout the early chapters, the narrator acknowledges the full breadth of their awareness about this character in humorous and foreshadowing parenthetical asides, as in, “she screamed, 'I'm never speaking to you again!' (little did she know)” (12). In this case, the narrator is describing an argument that Janey had with her mother and referencing the fact that Olivia was soon to die in a car accident. From Janey's perspective, the narrator switches to Cleveland, allowing the reader some insight into this character's unfulfilled situation...