Point of View

The story is told entirely in third person, by an omniscient narrator. Each, section, however, concentrates on a specific character and takes place in a different time period. Part 1 concentrates primarily on Tara and her arrival at the house. Her observations of the sameness of the house and its inhabitants provide the reader with his/her initial descriptions and characterizations of the characters. Part 2 goes back in time to when the children were growing up, and centers primarily on Bim. The reader is given a completely different outlook on the characters and rationalizations for their behavior in the first section as adults. Part 3 also takes place during the children's childhood and focuses mainly on the two sisters and their differing experiences in school, as well as their relationship and differing personalities. The reader learns a great deal about them through interactions as children that relate directly...