Point of view

Saville is told from a third person limited omniscient point of view. Colin's feelings are really the only ones the reader will experience but others' anguishes and joys are seen through his eyes. It's as though the reader were looking out of a window that is Colin's soul onto the landscape of his relationships with his family and friends.

As readers continue through this novel, they will see Colin referred to occasionally as only "he" or "him." Harry Saville is "his father" and Ellen is "his mother." Yet, readers still experience a first-person feel to Colin, richly drawn by David Storey.

As observers to everything around Colin as he sees it, readers still don't get to know Colin on a personal and intimate level. His emotions, while they are sometimes stated, are never felt. This gives the story a distant feel, which is symbolic to how...