Who is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him?
First Person (Central Narrator)
You know those uptight, pretentious, super-educated snobs who narrate their lives in classic novels? Ed is definitely not one of them. In fact he's one of the most down-to-earth, upfront, and honest narrators we've ever met—almost to the point of cringe-worthy in his own right. Take his introduction to his life. He tells us he's got:
No real career. No respect in the community. Nothing. I'd realized there were people everywhere achieving greatness while I was taking directions from balding businessmen called Derek and being wary of Friday-night drunks who might throw up in my cab or do a runner on me. (1.2.14)
Ouch. Ed's no saint (except if you ask Father O'Reilly or Sophie), but he sure is honest, which is great for him as a character and great for us as readers. We know we can trust exactly what he says, because he never leaves anything out… even when we kind of want him to.