Memory and the Past

Over the course of the novel, the author braids scenes from the main character Allie’s past and present lives in order to formally enact her fraught relationship with her memories and past. In the narrative present, Allie has done her best to sequester herself from any reminder of her former life and former selves. After she ran away from home as a teenager, she has had no contact with any of her relatives. Indeed, she did not even attend her mother’s funeral. Therefore, when Jankie and Colin resurface in Allie’s life in Chapters 2 and 4 respectively, Allie is forced to confront where she comes from in spite of her associated discomfort. In Chapter 5, shortly after reuniting with Colin by chance, Allie sits at home reflecting on the way she once saw herself. “Trouble with me,” she admits, “is that most of...