Point of View

The novel is narrated in past tense from the perspective of a third-person omniscient narrator. The chapters alternate focus on each member of the Cheng family—Jack, Annabel, Patty, and Liang. These shifts in point-of-view allow the reader insight into each character's thoughts and feelings as well as the dynamics of their relationships with one another. Occasionally this involves seeing the same scene from multiple perspectives. For instance, Jack recalls spending an afternoon with his father at the pond behind his old elementary school, remembering every detail of what they said and did together. Liang remembers the same scene, but with none of the details. This is symbolic of the fact that Jack longs for a closer relationship with his father and Liang is oblivious to this longing, as he is of so many aspects of his son's life and personality.

The chapters from Annabel's...