Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
England, early Twentieth Century; Egypt, during World War Two, England, after the War
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is that of Claudia Hampton, who tells the story of her life in the context of major events in world history.
Tone and Mood
Passionate, mournful, filled with regret
Protagonist and Antagonist
Claudia Hampton is the protagonist. Jasper is one of the antagonistic characters in her life and their relationship is very volatile.
Major Conflict
The main conflict in the novel is World War Two, more specifically the Battle of El Alamein, during which Tom Southern is killed.
Climax
Claudia's death is the climax of the novel.
Foreshadowing
The report that Tom is missing foreshadows the confirmation that he has been killed in battle.
Understatement
Claudia admits to Lisa that she was a distant mother which is an understatement; she did not bond at all with her daughter, and gave her to her mother, and Jasper's mother, to share custody of.
Allusions
The Battle of El Alamein is alluded to both in a war history context and also in the context of how it impacts Claudia's life.
Imagery
The author paints a very vivid picture of wartime Egypt, specifically in terms of the difficult conditions, and we are able to produce a visual image and also to engage our senses of hearing and smell, given the extreme destruction and death caused by the battles that are described.
Paradox
Claudia never got over losing her first child, Tom's baby, but did not want or bond with her second child.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Claudia's feelings of being left behind by Tom, and Lisa's feelings of being left behind by her mother.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
No specific examples
Personification
No specific examples
