Memory

Memory plays a central role in the novel. It is embedded in the very structure of the narrative. It is through Norah's use of memory that all the events and descriptions of the past come to the forefront of the narration. Scenes from the novel occur in a non-chronological order and this can only be accomplished by making use of the spontaneous and tenuous connections between events that only the rapid movement of recollection can establish. Events in the novel often occur out of chronological order, and scenes that are separated by decades often follow one another in close succession.

It is through Norah's memory that the novel unfolds. Many times throughout, Norah's memory proves to be faulty and uncertain regarding the veracity of the things it remembers. Throughout the novel, memory will often equip Norah with the remembrance of an event that is vague and...