Point of View

The Days of Afrekete is written from the third person point of view. In the beginning chapters of the novel, this third person narrator lives closest to Liselle's experience and consciousness. Therefore, the narrator inhabits Liselle's psyche and often adopts her emotions and thoughts, presenting them as part of the overarching narrative body. One such example appears in Chapter 2 shortly after Liselle returns home. The narrator says: "Less than four hours remained before the party; Winn would likely arrive not long before the guests. Before that Patrice would be home from school and Liselle had to plan what she would say, what she would do, how her face would look. ('Fix your face, Liselle,' Verity had often said when she was young)" (8). This passage illustrates the close relationship between the narrative renderings and Liselle's perspective. Indeed, the first sentence originates directly from Liselle's consciousness...