Relationships

One of the primary themes running through the novel is relationships. The novel reveals that even the individuals who make up a family have different relationships among the family members. For example, David feels a sense of closeness to a father that he never really knew. At the same time, he is estranged from his mother.

Friendship is another type of relationship the novel tackles. Dot and David are best friends and roommates. They share everything with each other and often comfort each other in their times of need. It is the close relationship David and Dot have that lands them in some of the trouble they end up in as the novel unfolds. Whitey is one of the only other friends David has. Whitey winds up dead and David ends up being one of the prime suspects.

Romantic relationships are also tackled in the novel. David falls...