The structure of the novel is particularly noticeable because the vignettes keep alternating between prose, poetry, and passages that have dialogue. According to some critics and scholars, it is a kind of composite novel. It is also classified as a cycle of short stories.
Most of the vignettes are free and they have their different storylines and events, however, they are thematically and contextually tied to each other. There are some characters and situations which recur between vignettes.
