Point of View

The point of view of the novel follows a similar pattern as the other two novels in the trilogy. The prologue and epilogue are told in third-person past with a focus on a nameless boy and girl, while the body of the novel is told in first-person past with Alina Starkov as the narrator. The prologue and epilogue give the novel a fairytale frame that announces that the story is ancient and eternal, like a famous myth or legend. The characters in these sections are distant and removed, simply referred to by “the boy” or “the girl.” There is no internalization, just a broad, nearly omniscient sweeping brush of story.

However, the bulk of the novel exits this perspective and instead zooms into the first-person past of Alina’s narration. In these chapters, Alina’s internal thoughts and feelings take center stage and she narrates...