Point of View

The novel is told from the point of view of an omniscient third-person narrator. Ellen is the character of focus, but the narrator records the thoughts, actions, and words of other characters as well. Consider the opening sentence: “Madame Secretary,’ said Charles Boynton, hurrying beside his boss as she rushed down Mahogany Row to her office in the State Department. ‘You have eight minutes to get to the Capitol’” (1). Both Ellen and Charles are referred to using the third-person pronouns “his,” “she,” and “her.” When Ellen enters the House chamber, the narrator is able to record the thoughts of the other members of government including the thoughts of Williams and Ellen themselves: “‘Madame Secretary.’ You incompetent shit. / ‘Mr. President.’ You arrogant asshole” (14).

Because the action of this novel takes place over so many different countries, it would have been nearly impossible to use a first-person...