Perspective

The book is written in first person from the perspective of the author. This is somewhat unusual in a book of this kind because the author is not part of the story other than as the person conducting the research necessary to write the book. Nonetheless, the author puts himself into the action of the book repeatedly. One example is seen early in the book when the author is describing his efforts to discover the reason Jagerstatter changes from a wild youngster to a serious and devout young man. The author presents several theories based on the research and comments from people he interviewed with two people disagreeing on whether Jagerstatter had made pilgrimages to the Altotting shrine prior to his death. The author then states, in parenthesis, "I incline to favor the pastor's account in this instance." This is an indication that the author includes his personal...