Singularized as it is by a clear axis of symmetry, the novel's dual structure perfectly expresses Phillips' s purpose to suggest contrasts as well as comparisons, differences as well as similitudes. Such a dyadic organization seems to set apart the Afro-American narratives of the first part and the British accounts of the second part, but, in fact, Phillips weaves together the various narrative threads using an aesthetics of fragmentation which shows simultaneously the common fractures of these suffering testimonies and the impossible coherence of so many narratives of trauma. By thus highlighting the shared features of the black accounts and the white accounts, Phillips demonstrates his deterrnination to deconstruct ail dichotomies, be they poetic or political.