 Shiloh is told in the first person in main character Marty Preston 's voice . The prose has perceptible grammatical errors and a bucolic tone . Arlene <unk> Rae of Toronto Star wrote that the novel is written in the " uncomplicated style " for which Naylor is distinguished . Jane Langton of The New York Times Book Review stated that the novel was written in a " comfortable , down @-@ home style " . Writing that the main story in Shiloh is Marty 's struggle in his mind with morality , Langston noted that it is " presented simply , in a way any third- or fourth @-@ grade reader can understand " . Scholar Kathie Cerra praised the novel for its " vivid sensory detail " , which enables readers to experience Marty 's " inner life of thought and feeling " . In Marty 's " teem [ ing ] with life " first @-@ person narrative , he shows how he feels when he tells lies to his parents and when he embraces the wriggling Shiloh . 
