Genre
magic realism
Setting and Context
London, 20th century
Narrator and Point of View
Third person omniscient
Tone and Mood
Tone: indirect
Mood: distressed, melancholic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Melanie; Antagonist: Uncle Philip
Major Conflict
After her parents die in a tragic accident Melanie and her younger siblings are obliged to live with their mother's brother, Uncle Philip.
Climax
While Uncle Philip's away from home, the rest of the family are having a jovial time, which leads to revelation of the nature of Jowles siblings' relationship and a tragic ending of the house and the toy shop when Uncle Philip returns home and burns everything to the ground.
Foreshadowing
Melanie's parents' wedding photograph with their family members, along with Uncle Philip, serves as a grim object of foreshadowing.
Understatement
The biggest understatement is the painting of Melanie's aunt naked in Finn and Francie's bedroom. Melanie doesn't give the painting much consideration, but it is a large hint of what kind of relationship the Jowles have.
Allusions
"Melanie had never even known an orphan before and now here she was, an orphan herself. Like Jane Eyre."
Imagery
Imagery of paintings and photographs as hints to the truth.
Paradox
"Since she was thirteen, when her periods began, she had felt she was pregnant with herself..."
Parallelism
"The world, which was only this garden, was as empty as the sky, endless as eternity."
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
"And the house was peculiarly cold. Perhaps it was freezing itself out of spite."
