Point of View

The point of view of the novel is first person. The narrator is an unnamed writer who is reflecting on his life as he lives out his ninetieth year. The narrator talks about his past, mentioning some of the women he has shared his bed with as well as discussing his relationship with his mother and his work as a writer for a local newspaper. The narrator feels that his life has been mediocre, neither boring nor exciting. The narrator has lately become obsessed with a young virgin, believing himself to be in love for the first time in his life, and this has caused him to become aware of his own mortality. The novel is a reflection of all these concerns, expressing the narrator's amazement at falling in love for the first time and his fear of dying before he has been able to fully...