Point of View

The narrator of Leading Men is a non-exogenic third-person limited narrator. The novel follows two narrative perspectives: Anja Blomgren and Frank Merlo. While the story centers on the love affair between Tennessee Williams and Frank Merlo, Anja plays an influential role in the men’s lives. As the perspectives of Anja and Frank alternate between one another, readers are given insight into the crucial roles the men play in launching Anja’s career as an actress.

The third-person limited narration allows the author to withhold information from the reader. This is particularly important in the case of the relationship decline between Frank and Tennessee. In the first chapter, Frank’s narrative begins with a joyful tone, in which himself and Tennessee are happy together in Portofino; the time period abruptly changes to ten years later, in which Frank is fearful that he will die alone...