By knocking, by opening the door, I knew we'd be letting out a whole host of ghosts.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: When Joan arrives at the Memphis house with Miriam and Mya at the start of the novel, she is immediately unnerved by the place. Because she has not been there since she was three, however, Joan is unsure why the house gives her this unsettled feeling. In the above moment, Joan's first person narration conveys her character's deep capacity for reflection. She is in tune with her surroundings even if she is not fully aware of their histories or implications. This line also foreshadows coming revelations regarding hers and the other characters' traumatic experiences. The line simultaneously introduces the authors interest in exploring memory and the past throughout the chapters to come. Indeed, throughout the eight years the family spends in the house together, they are forced into confrontation with a host of...