Point of View

The novel is mainly narrated from a first-person perspective by Natsuko, a writer living in Tokyo. During the first book of the novel, Natsuko’s narrations are interspersed with journal entries written by her niece, Midoriko. As Midoriko herself appears in the novel from Natsuko’s point of view, her journal entries serve to reveal her inner thoughts and give a different perspective on her as a character. This is useful to the reader since Midoriko opts not to speak throughout most of Book One. Due to tensions between her and her mother, she only communicates in writing. At one point, Natsuko confesses to having read Midoriko’s journal — taking this into consideration, the whole novel is arguably told from Natsuko’s point of view. Natsuko’s reflections are centered largely on herself, following her own dilemmas, opinions, and experiences. This is particularly true in...