Point of View

For the most part this collection of microfiction is told in first person point of view, either from Flaubert's point of view or an unnamed narrator. In many instances - especially in the case of the unnamed narrator - the gender of the speaker is not always discernible.

Language and Meaning

Lydia Davis's use of language is experimental and are often most likened to a snapshot in time, a captured thought written down. There is little setting, narrative, descriptions, characters that have names, and in many instances, the writing can be considered more a form of prose or unrhymed poetry.

The author, herself, in several interviews has stated that many of the stories are actual meditations that she's had, but to start labeling everything in the collection differently was going to be problematic. Therefore, she opted for the loose term of stories. She also states...