Point of View

In terms of narrative point of view, the book shift perspective frequently. These shifts in perspective are connected, in part, to elements of the novel’s structure (see “Structure,” below). One perspective remains consistent throughout the book – that of Ansel Packer, a serial killer on death row. The first narrative line of the book focuses on Packer’s experiences in the last twelve hours of his life, and is recounted in the second-person, present tense – i.e., with Packer thinking of, and referring to, himself as “you.” There are two points to note here – how this perspective reflects both the immediacy of his situation (i.e., the present tense evoking his experience of living and being in the moment), and a potential authorial intent to place the reader in Packer’s position, asking the reader to engage with both Packer’s thematically significant theories of...