Point of View

The majority of Mercy House is written in third person close. The narration is in third person, but spends a lot of time focused on what Evelyn thinks and how she feels. Despite being in third person, the narrator never strays into the thoughts of other characters, solidifying the narrator as being very close to Evelyn. It gives the reader a sense of being very close to Evelyn. At times, the novel reads similar to if it were in first person. Since the narration is in third person, not first, it gives the reader a sense of being anchored in reality. Evelyn is a character who has suffered a great deal in her life, and having the book be in first person might make the reader see her narration as unreliable. By filtering Evelyn’s thoughts and feelings through a third person narration, even one...