Summarizer-Steph 5/11/10

For this final job, rather than summarize the entire book, I will focus on the second part of the summarizer's job: analyzing the writing style throughout the book. Although the author identifies herself in the foreword, she is remarkably absent from the rest of the book. This could be seen as an attempt at objectivity. The author also seems to take a very objective tone, merely stating the facts and offering no commentary. As a whole, though, the book is not objective. Seierstad expresses her opinions through the way she organizes the book and how much attention she pays to each of the characters and their individual plights. For example, she uses a lot of the book to talk about Leila, even choosing to end with Leila's engagement, and never portrays her in a negative light, unlike most of the other characters in the book. The reader can sympathize with Leila, but at the same time realizes that no one is perfect and that perhaps the author's connection to Leila affected how she was portrayed in the book.