The Birth of Compassion and Connection

The book’s core thematic element is its consideration of the process of developing compassion and connection. This consideration manifests in various ways throughout the novel, but crystallizes only in its final moments.

There are points in many of the book’s chapters in which the narrative portrays Shay as glimpsing an aspect of herself, her identity, and her situation that manifests as a discovery about compassion, and/or as an opportunity to experience and understand connection in a new way. In “Sister Shadow,” for example, Shay’s contemplations on her relationship with housekeeper / confidante Bertine lead her to the emerging realization that their relationship went deeper than she (Shay) really understood it to be. A more significant example is in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” in which Shay’s realizations about the identity and intentions and needs of dinner...