Double Vision Book

I read this book for a class I'm taking, with the requirement to pay particular attention to point of view. And the point of view is interesting. Barker chooses third-person close for two primary characters, switching between them at well chosen places in the narration, and veers off into what seems like omniscience at various points. She does this so smoothly that I had to pause and contemplate how it happened.

The story is good, a post 9-11 trauma set in the English countryside. Unfortunately, the only character with any depth is Stephen, a foreign correspondent with PTSD who has a fascinating resurgence in life after he begins a sexual affair with his brother's nanny, a girl twenty years younger. Yep, that'll do it. Most of the other characters, both major and minor, seem flat and "to type." Tortured atheist artist sculpting Christ figure, confused ineffectual vicar, sexually uninhibited vicar's daughter, et cetera.

Nevertheless, the fun of the book is due to the tension and suspense that Barker creates around a young good-looking convict, freed from prison for a crime the local vicar chooses not to reveal. I don't want to spoil the plot, so I'll stop here.