Comment on perspective

Adrift is written in a first person, present tense perspective. This imbues the narrative with a sense of both intimacy and immediacy, as events seem to unfold experientially through the eyes of the protagonist. This device serves to distance the reader from Callahan-as-author even as it encourages sympathy for Callahan-as-castaway. The first person present tense keeps the story focused on the desperate "now," casting the future as perilously uncertain.