Point of View

The point of view of the novel is central to its structure. Jean narrates the first 11 chapters, and possibly the last four as well, though this is up for interpretation and debate. The novel is meant to be read as a metafictional construction written by Jean: “And now that we’re in the next century, I’ve stopped writing for a moment on page 7 of this Claire-fontaine writing pad to have another look at that card, which lives in the file” (7). However, after the 11th chapter ends, Jean seems to disappear as a narrator and is replaced with an objective narrator who makes no comment at all about himself. Jean, in these final chapters, is transformed into the nameless Frenchman who appears to Noëlle and starts asking her questions in such a manner that the reader cannot help but suspect the Frenchman and Jean...