Romantic Attachment

Romantic relationships feature prominently in many of the stories in the collection, and the stories often illustrate both the euphoria and worry/melancholy that can be associated with such relationships. For example, “The Rememberer” is a rather surreal story, but it can possibly be interpreted as a representation of a gradually failing relationship. In the story, Annie watches as her boyfriend slowly transforms into various animals along the evolutionary timeline, in reverse chronological order. The day before this process begins, Annie’s boyfriend Ben makes the following statement to Annie: “We’re all getting too smart. Our brains are just getting bigger and bigger, and the world dries up and dies when there’s too much thought and not enough heart. Like us, Annie. We think far too much” (4). This statement could be interpreted as a commentary on a perceived lack of love in the...