Point of View

The novel is written in the third person omniscient point of view. The author uses multiple characters to tell her story, but the majority of the novel is told through the eyes of Tengo. The novel begins in the voice of Frikkie, however, and various other characters tell certain aspects of the story that the reader needs to be aware of but Tengo is not aware of. For example, the author uses Tengo's mother to tell the reader Tengo is going to Johannesburg to study not only because of her emotional reaction to this decision but because she knows before Tengo that arrangements have been finalized for his schooling.

The point of view of this novel can cause some confusion for the reader because the author does use many different characters to tell her story, especially in the beginning of the novel. However, the author continuously...