Point of View

The novel is told from the third person perspective of both Suteera and the Old Musician. The perspective changes back and forth between the two of them, sometimes for a few paragraphs, and sometimes for 10 pages or more. Changing perspectives in this way gives the impression of a fleeting thought or moment, or sometimes an extended memory. Using the third person perspective gives Ratner the ability to show an intimate view into the character’s psyche while also showing the outside impacts around them. Using both perspectives, rather than only one, shows how the same two people feel about the war - one an adult during the war, and one a child. She also uses different names for Suteera/Teera and the Old Musician/Tun to differentiate the time period of the particular memory or moment. Teera is the present, Suteera the past; Old Musician...