Point of View

The novel is written entirely from the point of view of its ostensible author, C.M. Lucca. It is presented as though it were a nonfiction biography of a woman named X written by C.M., who is X's widow. Though there are occasional interludes which make reference to letters, transcripts, notes, audio recordings, interviews, or other ephemera that C.M. uses as evidentiary support for her claims, the vast majority of the novel is told in the same straightforward manner by its single narrator, who sometimes functions as a detached reporter of history and sometimes becomes a more active player in the narrative.

This point of view is integral to the novel's goals and ideas because so much of it is devoted to interrogating the reliability and responsibility of the creative process. Lacey is fascinated by the question of who ought to tell which...