Point of View

This novel is told from the first person point of view of Xingyin. This first person narration allows us to have interiority into her thoughts and feelings as the events of the novel are unfolding. Xingyin is a reliable narrator who recounts her thoughts and feelings with clarity.

Because of this first person narration, the reader is able to understand how Xingyin's thoughts and actions contribute to or contrast with her words and her actions. It creates a psychological complexity to her character that would otherwise be missing from the narrative due to Tan's focus on fantasy worldbuilding and romance. Her first person narration shows how she struggles internally with loneliness, impulsivity, and indecisiveness. Her internal dialogue allows the reader to connect to her emotionally with more depth than other forms of narration.

Xingyin first person narration also furthers the slow burn of the romances...