Point of View

"The Underneath" is told from the third person, omniscient point of view. A narrator tells the story from the view of all the characters at different points in the novel. The narrator knows all the thoughts, emotions, and intentions of each of the characters in the novel. Emphasis is put on each of the characters in turn as they take a front seat in the action of the novel. Some of those receiving the most emphasis in the novel include Puck and Grandmother.

Some of the events of the story are from more than a thousand years ago. In other parts, the all-knowing narrator tells the more recent story of Puck, Sabine, and Ranger.

Language and Meaning

The author is magical in the way she weaves her story back and forth between the thousand years that have passed since Grandmother was stuffed in the jar...