Point of View

Wuertz uses a close, third-person perspective for the novel that shifts among the three main characters: Sunam, Namin, and Jisun. The shifts take place precisely at chapter breaks, though Wuertz may stay with one character’s narrative for five chapters, and at other times, only for one. There are no breaks to this perspective throughout the novel. For instance, if the narrative lies with Sunam, the narrator is not privy to information or perspective that Sunam does not know or have.

This technique of shifting narrative effectively creates dramatic irony and tension. Let us briefly examine the night when Sunam meets Jisun and Namin. When Namin first speaks to Sunam at the party, her presence startles him, he convinces himself she is some kind of joke, sent there to harass him by the Circle. As close readers, however, we immediately discern that the girl is...