A Place to Hang the Moon

The novel employs a third-person invisible omniscient narrative point of view. An omniscient narrator relays knowledge of the inner thoughts, feelings, and emotions of multiple characters. An invisible omniscient narrator is when the narrator does not make themselves known with “I” pronouns, as opposed to an involved omniscient narrator, who uses first-person pronouns. An invisible narrator is still a distinct entity with their own tone and style, who tells the reader about the characters and their thoughts.

The invisible narrator of A Place to Hang the Moon jumps seamlessly between the thoughts and emotions of all three Pearce children. Since the three children are equal protagonists of the novel, this narrative choice allows the author to fully convey all three children’s thoughts and feelings. This is particularly useful for texts in which narrative action or character-building is largely driven by internal mental and emotional processes.

The Pearce children, for instance, do not fully articulate their innermost desires or emotions. Omniscient point of view conveys the things they will not say out loud, such as William’s longing for an adult who will relieve the burden of parenting his siblings.