Point of View

The point of view of the novel is complicated and, at times, impenetrable. The prologue begins simply enough with a transcript interview between Detective Teru and Hisako Aosawa.

The next section slips ahead thirty years and presents an interview between an unnamed interviewer and Makiko Saiga. The interviewer obscures all evidence of herself, but includes Makiko’s direct statements to the interviewer, so there is no mistaking the fact that an interview is happening rather than a running stream of consciousness. Next, Makiko’s research assistant is interviewed in the same style. Then, an excerpt from Makiko’s book is presented, contradicting some of what Makiko said in her interview. After this, the housekeeper’s daughter is interviewed in the same style. In "Part Five," Detective Teru is described in the third-person past by a seemingly omniscient narrator. Next, Makiko’s older brother is interviewed...