What is the narrator point of view in the novel, Under the Volcano?

The point of view of this novel changes by chapter. First, the reader follows the story from the view of a secondary character, Laruelle. As a character largely outside of the action of the plot, Laruelle gives a good deal of background information, mostly about the consul and Yvonne.

The point of view changes in chapter two to that of Yvonne, though still in third person. The author tells of Yvonne's trip through town, in search of her ex-husband. Though the author uses third person point of view, regardless of the character being followed, the point of view is never omniscient. The reader must judge the thoughts and emotions of the characters based largely on their words and actions.

Finally, after several chapters of introduction, the reader sees the story from the consul's eyes. Whenever the author uses this point of view, the story becomes hardest to follow. The consul's repeated voices and visions make it hard to discern between reality and fantasy. Moreover, the consul's story fails to follow in chronological order much of the time.