What is the effect of seeing the story through Joey's eyes? How might it have been different if Leela or Ruby had narrated this tale?

What do you feel is the effect of seeing the storyline through Joey's eyes? How might the perceptions have been different if Leela or Ruby had narrated this tale?

Well, first, I doubt Leela or Ruby would have the same level of patience with Marshall's condition. But having the narrator be Marshall's son allows a level of intimacy none of the other characters could have provided. It also allowed the mystery to emerge, since Joey was in the dark about his father's past. Ruby would have known a lot of it already, and Leela wasn't close enough to the family to give the revelations more than a little attention.

I agree. It was most helpful to have Joey share the storyline. Feel he had the background and the patience with Marshall as we do with our own parents. He also had some/not all of his father's past. I so enjoyed Joey telling the story.

I think the male perspective is quite interesting. In past books I have read dealing with a person's diminishing due to dementia, most seem to be from a female perspective, either wife or daughter. I also think children's reaction to becoming the parent of their parent is an interesting one that we would not have had with Leela or Ruby. Definitely liked the choice.

Joey telling the story gave the author the opportunity to weave in the background of the story without prejudice. The other two characters telling the story would have had more of a vested interest in telling the story as they lived it, from their point of view.

It had to be from Joey's eyes as it is his past that is being revealed and his future that is being preserved. He has the most to gain and to lose from the full story not being revealed. It also serves the purpose of bringing Joey and his father closer and allowing Marshall to unburden himself to his son while he still had the opportunity and the memory left to do so.

I agree the above posts. Using Joey’s perspective allowed the reader to become more involved in the story and to learn particulars along with him. It also brought in the closeness and relationship that Joey and his father had and allowed for the niggling suspicion Joey had about his father’s ability for violence.

I was HAPPILY surprised that Joey’s sisters were not important characters and that Joey did not rely on them to “take over” the minute things became complicated.

My husband and I differ a lot on people's motivations and intentions. The first difference would be seeing the story through a man's eyes instead of a woman's. Joey also had personal experiences with family events. He had childhood experiences with his father that no one else knew about. He loved his father like no one else did. Being family, Joey did not need a filter to check his comments. Leela was smart but did not have a family history as a broader context. Ruby was close to the family but did not know many of the interactions between father and son.