Point of View

The novel is written from the third person limited point of view. This means that the narrator’s access is limited to the primary character Sam Arthur’s perspective. Throughout the novel, the narrator inhabits Sam’s consciousness and describes the narrative world according to how Sam sees, experiences, and processes it. The reader can refer to a passage from the start of the novel that exemplifies this formal dynamic: “How exhausting. This slog. Endless. No matter their jobs or their wages,” says the narrator of Sam and Elena, “this is how things would be, as long as they lived on the island. They would have to move, Sam always told Elena, if they wanted a life worth living. And Elena didn’t disagree. They didn’t even have to discuss it: the necessity of moving” (7). The narrator is describing the sisters’ life on San...