Point of View

This novel is told by a third-person narrator from the viewpoints of four main characters — Lily, James, Charles, and Nan. By telling the story from these four characters in turn, Wall demonstrates that each is equally important to the story. Wall also uses this format to illustrate the individual strengths and weaknesses of each character. The third-person point of view keeps the reader at a distance from all the characters by not allowing an emotional attachment to any of them. It gives the reader the necessary space to observe the inner workings of the relationships and understand how the characters complement one another despite their differences.

In the Prologue the narrator tells the reader that James and Charles have formed a bond that makes Charles’ death feel like an amputation to James. The reader also learns from the narrator that Nan has come to accept...