Revenge, Justice, and Retribution

Each of the characters in this novel is on a personal journey towards his own salvation, which is achieved through either doling out vigilante justice or establishing personal acts of retribution. There is a balance in this novel between the concept of punishment and personal salvation, and Finn establishes a strong give and take between the two. Gloria is by far the strongest representation of a person who needs everything related to this theme. She is greedy for justice to be delivered to anyone she deems worthy of punishment, and yet she desperately seeks retribution over her guilt for her son’s death. In a disconnected chapter, Paul Strebel observes something about the human race that explains Gloria’s drive very clearly. Strebel notes, “It’s this rage and sorrow we carry in us forever, he’d thought—I need, I need, I...