Point of View

The novel is a first person narrative told from Ed, a middle-aged man who recounts events in chronological order. This narration is held steady throughout the novel. Other characters tell Ed stories of things that once happened, but we never leave the point of view of this character.

The point of view of the novel gives the reader both a sense of being closely in tune with Ed’s thoughts and desires at any moment, and also draws the reader’s attention to points in the novel where important emotions or observations get left out. As an example of the latter, Ed seems to worry very little about whether or not the man he killed was the right one, but that is naturally a larger concern to the reader, who would like to believe that he did the right thing in killing him. Also, when...