Point of View

This book is told from the viewpoint of a narrator, who is explaining aspects of life that he believes are not well-understood by most professional observers, who he thinks take the color and mystery of life and paint it in their own, banal hues. The narrator believes that because looking at a thing alters it, the thing must be trained to look at itself. From a distant, almost distracted point of view, he presents what he calls a catalog of the secret motions of life. He never attempts to enter into the thoughts of any other character, and only in rare instances does he reveal anything of his own emotions. For example, he admits at one point, late in the book, that he loved his brother, and he expresses longing as a child that his injured, pet dog would be mended. In most stories, such sentiments...