Comment on death

The theme of death is central to the plot of the novel, and serves as both a source of difficulty and grief as well as an agent of cohesion between several characters. The novel encompasses both the process of grieving a lost loved one as well as the long term effects and difficulties that come with it, including inter-familial strife and the upheaval of the familiar. Jessie, her father, Rachel, Theo, Ethan, and other characters all center around a recent death, and the novel strives to demonstrate the various ways in which such a death affects them.