Point of View

The novel is narrated in the third person, but entirely from the perspective of the protagonist, Pino. The narrative has been brought together by an author who has taken an interest in Pino’s story, which had been obscured by lack of physical documentation and evidence, and therefore a lack of publicization. With Pino’s permission, the author constructs a voice for the young Pino, recounting the events between 1943 and 1945 as if it were Pino himself speaking, for the purpose of creating a piece of historical fiction and telling a previously hidden factual story at the same time.

Through this method one can see both the transformation of Pino from a naive young boy, whose primary interests are girls and music, to someone with a unique and dangerous mission which will permanently change him, and also the changes brought on by war from a ground-level...