Kathy answers “Can anyone distill the structure and point...”

Samantha Alviani asked this question about Prodigal Summer:

Can anyone distill the structure and point of view of this novel? trying to describe it to a class in more depth, and I've been describing it as multi-viewpoint chronological.

Kathy I wouldn't say that this is about point-of-view in the standard sense. I would say that this is a novel with three parallel narratives. These narrativ…moreI wouldn't say that this is about point-of-view in the standard sense. I would say that this is a novel with three parallel narratives. These narratives are linked by the themes of the novel (nature, eco-systems, mothering, life, death, etc.), but the characters are only tangentially linked and we only realise how the characters and their narratives are linked as we come towards the close of the story. I would say that our realisation of these links is deliberately delayed by the writer to illustrate how the interdependence of parts of an eco-system is not always easy to discern.(less)

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