Point of View

The main body of the novel is written from the third person, past tense, omniscient point of view, which in general means that the narrative can, and does, explore the action from the perspectives of more than one character. In this particular case, the experiences of Bill, Brita, Karen and Scott are all investigated, recounted, and commented upon by the narrative in relatively equal measure, with Bill being the central perspective. It's important to note that the narrative stays within the experiential framework of those four characters - the perspectives of even significant secondary characters (Everson, Habbib, Rashid) remain unconsidered on their own merits, but are filtered through those of the four main protagonists. The only exception is the character of the prisoner, whose personal experience is explored in the same sort of depth as those of the main characters. In any case, the main benefit...