This ambitious novel's inability to fully resonate may stem from Settle's choice of narrative perspective. In an effort to weave disparate threads into a cohesive whole, Settle anchors the story around Teresa, whose perspective dominates the narrative. Consequently, other characters must relay their tales to her, and often incrementally, as they gradually trust her or overcome their initial hesitations. This narrative approach distances their stories, resulting in a novel heavy with dialogue. Moreover, these narratives are interpreted through Teresa's lens—she appears to possess no remarkable talent for being a confidante beyond having keen hearing and a muddled understanding of her own life, exacerbated by her sessions with an ineffective therapist, Dr. Dangle. Although Teresa presumably gains clarity throughout the novel, her insights seem more introspective and melodramatic than enlightening. If we imagine she has metaphorically crossed the river Styx, where then are the transformative revelations? This sentiment mirrors the novel's depiction of a collective of confused characters, save for Father Pius Deng, who exudes a calming presence and stands as the most compelling candidate for the novel’s focal point.

Settle's employment of a removed perspective and central narrative intelligence evokes the style of Joseph Conrad, particularly through his character/narrator Marlow. Marlow is notably featured in Conrad's Heart of Darkness—from which Father Deng acquires his English—and serves as the voice of several other stories, at times laboriously. Furthermore, some of Conrad's figures are known to metaphorically traverse the river Styx, though such journeys do not inherently secure them membership in London's elite social circles. Settle's thematic exploration of crossing the Styx resonates with F. Scott Fitzgerald's musings on the affluent and Ernest Hemingway's reflections on bullfighters, suggesting these individuals possess distinct qualities that set them apart from the ordinary populace.

Celebration shares a kinship with Settle's Blood Tie: both tales unfold against the backdrop of foreign lands, weave tapestries of varied characters, and dabble in inventive perspectives. However, in Celebration, these narrative experiments falter, and a side-by-side with its predecessor sheds light on Settle's missteps. Still, her aspirations, mirrored in the expansive Beulah Quintet, are unmistakably bold and impressive.