Style and Craft

The first portion of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing is written from Octavian's point of view in a detached, scientific tone. As Octavian was raised to hold himself apart from the world and observe things objectively, it makes sense that he would explain things as rationally as he could. There are moments, however, when he is unable to maintain his emotional distance, and glimpses of the child within him peek through. Most often, these moments occur during events concerning his mother, showing that despite his cool rationale, he is still a child who desperately needs his mother to be there with him.

At a far more profound turning point, when he finally loses his mother, M. T. Anderson employs pages of scribbled out text in an illustration of the extremity of Octavian's emotions. He's unable to think rationally, and can't record or report his experiences in a way that could be understood. All of the legible details are cool and coldly factual. The scribbled out text serves a second meaning, as well. In that time period, records of slaves' births and deaths were shoddy. The fact that the scribbled out pages surround her death reflects some of the historical condition of those records.

Thereafter, the point of view shifts as a result of Octavian no longer being a part of the measuring process. He's not reporting or recording anything himself, and so he has to be judged by the people around him. The rest of the book is comprised almost fully of a series of letters and reports by numerous people. The primary letter-writer is Evidence Goring, a soldier serving alongside Octavian, and the tone of his letters is radically different, matching the change in storyteller. His letters are much brighter and colorful in comparison, and the prose far more flowery. There is a similar shift for each of the other narrators, as well, to match their preferred methods of communication. Near the end, as the Society once again comes into contact with Octavian, the story's point of view reverts back to him.

The period of shifting points of view in the center of the book is unusual, and can be a bit confusing at times, but it ultimately lends more to the novel than if the book had stayed first person. Many readers who find it hard to sympathize with Octavian's detachment may find it far easier to connect with Evidence' more bouncy mind-set.