Structure

Aftershocks is divided into 12 overarching sections, titled: "Foreshocks," "The Blue Chair," "Topography," "The Blue Chair," "Faults," "Mainshocks," "Faults," "The Blue Chair," "Aftershocks," "Mainshocks," "The Blue Chair," and "Terraforming." These sections are preceded by shorter chapters titled "First Earthquake" and "Resettlement Registration Form," sections which introduce the narrative stakes of the memoir. Each of the larger sections is also divided into similarly chaptered sections, all of which are titled. Despite these neat formal divisions, Nadia's story defies conventional narrative form. Indeed, in the "Author's Note," section, she declares: "Time, for me, is not linear. I have written for meaning rather than order" (xv). The memoir, therefore, fractures the linear timeline, and shifts frequently between scenes from Nadia's distant and recent past. As the reader navigates Nadia's story, she feels herself experiencing Nadia's dislocation along with her. The form mimics Nadia's frequent physical relocations throughout her childhood and adolescence...