Point of View

The author uses multiple different points of view throughout the novel. The two main perspectives are Valera and Reno. Valera’s sections are told in the third person with an omniscient narrator, whereas Reno’s chapters are told in the first person from her perspective.

Within Reno’s chapters, however, there are multiple other perspectives used in the form of extended anecdotes from other characters, most notably Ronnie Fontaine, but also Giddle, and Stanley Kastle, who take over the narration from Reno for the length of their tales. This use of point of view in Reno’s chapters is reflective of her sense of self. At one point Reno reflected of the people around her: “They all talked nonstop. That is, if you didn’t intervene. They were accustomed to being interrupted. Whoever was hungriest to speak, spoke. I wasn’t hungry in that same...