Point of View

The novel is told through a multiple third-person narrative. The Prologue has an unnamed narrator who is later revealed to be Pearl. The narrators are Selena in 19 chapters; Pearl in 10 chapters; Anne in 6 chapters; Geneva in 3 chapters; and Oliver, Hunter, and Cora in 2 chapters respectively. With the exceptions of Oliver and Hunter, all the narrative perspectives are from a female point of view.

Selena’s point of view is heavily influenced by her husband Graham’s infidelity. Selena compares her marriage to that of her mother Cora, whose husband was also a serial adulterer. There is regret in Selena’s narration, especially as Selena remembers leaving her boyfriend Will for Graham. Selena views her relationship as having “something raw and primal beneath it. He was hers. And she was his. A fiery, blind devotion” (64). Selena remains close with Will throughout the novel. However, at the...