Why does Dalgleish describe Jonathan’s family and their roles with such detail? How does this relate to Jonathan’s storyline, and what comfort does this bring in comparison to the depiction of the natural world outside the farm?

How does the setting impact the family’s dynamic and the development of the story’s themes?

This is a historical novel set in an earlier time period than the one in which it was written. What elements of the novel speak to the values and ideas of the 1950s rather than the earlier historical era?