Point of View

The novel’s narration is written in the third person and the past tense. The narration adheres to only one character's perspective at a time. The point-of-view characters include Philippe, Angelica, Darius, Pericles, Marina, Chloe, and Wilkins. The novel frequently shifts between character perspectives in order to juxtapose the character’s disparate experiences and mental processes. For example, the juxtaposition of Philippe, Angelica, and Darius’ perspectives help provide a thorough illustration of the dynamics, causes, and effects of interpersonal tensions therein. This personalization of perspective is also vital for illustrating characters’ internal changes, such as how Chloe’s trauma in the coffin compels her to shed her old identity and lead a new life of peace and obscurity.

Within single perspectives, the novel tracks the often conflicting nature of an individual’s own desires and through processes, as each character struggles with internal and external...