The style is initially austere: in the initial chapters, the action is described shallowly, at the surface, but changes sharply in Chapter 7, where the narrator is prominent and colors the description, sarcastically describing the "absurd" ritual of dinner and the "devouring" of the salmon and duck. The austere style is the focus of much commentary and of connection with the nouveau roman movement, while the rich seventh chapter is seen as a payoff by some critics, that may not be reached by readers who "shut the book before arriving ".