Point of View

Kevin Wilson tells his novel Perfect Little World in the third-person omniscient perspective from the point of view of an unidentified, emotionally-detached narrator. The narrator knows all things going on at all times with the major characters of the novel. This creates a kind of bird’s-eye view for readers who are able to do everything from being in the room with Grind when he first meets with Brenda to receive funding for the project to Izzy’s doubts about the project to the histories of both characters’ lives. This in turn creates an immense depth for the novel, as the characters are fully-explored and exposed to readers. The narrator displays no personal connection to the people being written about, merely telling their stories rather than personally or emotionally describing them. This is reflective of the detached, scientific aspect of the IFP: in essence, readers...