Point of View

The book is written in first person, largely limited to Tambu's point of view. The limited view is not really a hindrance in this case because the story is actually about Tambu's life, observations and thoughts. There seem to be some minor exceptions. For example, she talks of Lucia's relationship with her father, saying that her father had not had sex with Lucia until after Lucia was pregnant and that Lucia had declared that her unborn child had been fathered by Jeremiah because she knew her lover, Takesure, couldn't afford to support the two wives he already had, let alone another. There's really no way that Tambu could have known these things, but she presents them as fact, not speculation on her part.

The fact that she decides what to write about gives the story a somewhat disjointed feel in some sections. For example, she talks...