What is the narrator point of view in the novel, The White Book?

The speaker employs a variety of points of view. Sometimes, she uses first person plural to bring the reader into a sense of a shared experience with her. She says, ""The only view my window offers is the blurred suggestion of two poplars, ink-wash contours wavering four or five meters up from where the street lies hidden; all else is white. But can we really call it white? That vast, soundless undulation between this world and the next, each cold water molecule formed of drenched black darkness" (28). By saying, "we," she unites the reader with herself. Sometimes, she even unites the rest of humanity with herself when she explores universal topics through the first person plural voice. For example, she relates: "We lift our foot from the solid ground of all our life lived thus far and take that perilous step out into the empty air. Not because we can claim any particular courage, but because there is no other way" (15).

Additionally, she sometimes uses the second person voice. This is often used when speaking to her deceased older sister, her "onni" (137). Thus, through writing in the second person, she can connect herself with her deceased sister and remove some of the barriers imposed by death.

Additionally, the narrator often speaks in the first person singular. She often describes her experiences. As a result, as readers we may feel that we are getting her honest, true feelings sentiments and her most deeply held ideas in an unfiltered way. We are truly learning about her experiences. Since she often expresses strong ideas and feelings, the reader may feel that we are really getting to know her.

Although this is ambiguous, sometimes it seems as if Book 2 is told from the perspective of the narrator's sister. It seems as if the narrator is imagining what her sister would have felt and experienced had she lived. Her life and her sister's merge into one.