Point of View

Most of the stories in this collection are written from the first person, past tense point of view: in fact, it’s only the last three – “A Difficult Phase”, “The Unknown Soldier”, and “Retrospective” that aren’t. The first two of these focus tightly and clearly on the experiences and perspectives of their central characters and protagonists, dissatisfied journalist Talia in the case of the first story, and troubled ex-convict Alexi in the second – the third person limited point of view. The last of these third-person narratives shifts point of few twice before it settles on the experiences and perspectives of the character who turns out to be its actual protagonist: that is to say, before it lands on Boaz, the focus is aimed first at recently dead art patron Eva, and then at some of the members of Eva’s family as they cope...