Point of View

The point of view in this book is from the protagonist Joan Foster, told in the first person. The book begins with Joan writing in the present time period in Terremoto, Italy. Everything in Italy reminds of her of something else and this becomes a departing point for the character to break into flashbacks. Much of the book is in flashbacks that take us from Joan’s childhood all the way through to adulthood in the present time. The book starts and ends in the same place with Joan writing about the present in Terremoto, Italy. The voice is consistent throughout the novel, except when it breaks into excerpts that are the Costume Gothics books that Joan is writing. Her novels are written in the third-person from the perspective of the protagonist, which is always female.

Setting

Two-thirds of the book takes place in various...