Language

Language in both its written and oral forms represents, among other things, a source of both suffering and hope for the book's characters and the reader - suffering, in that it is the cause of the ultimately fatal illness that ends lives and relationships; hope, in that possibilities for a cure for that illness lies in the development of a way of communicating that involves a new kind of language. At times weaponized and at other times completely absent from communication between the characters, language also represents a fundamental aspect of humanity challenged by the overarching situation that drives the plot - the need to connect with other people.

Claire’s Letter

The letter that Claire writes (when she is about to go into exile after the quarantine on young people is imposed) to give to Esther represents a core aspect of her (Claire's) identity -...