Memory and Identity

The novel’s frame narrative centers on Fife’s attempts to tell the entirety of his life story, and that goal is thematically shaped by the perceived linkages between Fife’s memory and sense of self. For the past forty years, Fife has lied about many elements of his past, either through fabrication or omission. For example, “For half a century Leonard Fife was believed to be a draft dodger. It’s what he claimed on the day he crossed the border from Vermont into Canada and asked for asylum. He’s claimed it ever since that day” (11). However, as becomes evident by the end of the novel, Fife was never in danger of being drafted into the military, and in fact he was simply trying to escape his marriage. In his late seventies, Fife has terminal cancer, and he wishes to tell the...