Point of View

Kingsolver employs the third-person point of view throughout the novel. As a result, she is able to give a balanced portrait of each faction of the argument for custody of Turtle. Sybil Steinberg in her review of the novel in Publishers Weekly writes that one of its strengths is Kingsolver's ability to "make the reader understand and sympathize with both claimants on Turtle's life, the Cherokee Nation and Taylor."

Structure

Kingsolver effectively shifts between characters and their stories. This structure, coupled with the use of the third-person narrator, allows the author to present many perspectives so the reader can see all sides of the issue.

Symbol

Kingsolver often uses storytelling to symbolize the novel's conflicts and themes. For example, the story of "Six Pigs in Heaven" is told twice in the novel, each with a different interpretation. The story, an old Native American myth, involves six...