Point of View

The point-of-view in The Familiar has two layers to it: the omniscient narrator and the characters they choose to follow.

At many points in the novel, the narrator’s perspective and feelings are shown through the tone of the narration itself. In these moments, the narrator takes a big step back from the narrative, often to muse about events to come or how things could have been different. The first example of this is at the very beginning as Valentina, Luzia, and their conflict is introduced. The narrator ends the first chapter saying, “She had no way of knowing that Dona Valentina had already visited the kitchen that morning, or that he had seen the burnt bread in its pan…. If she had [seen the future], she would have known to leave the bread untouched, and that it was far better to endure the discomfort...