Loss

Throughout the chapters of Part I, the author uses Cee’s younger brother Wayne’s death as the foundation for her overarching thematic explorations concerning loss. This loss appears on the page in both literal images and figurative emotional experiences. For example, in Part I, Chapter 1, Cee describes Wayne’s drowning as follows: “On either side of you, those whirring sheets of water, the foam along their edges sharpening like teeth. On either side of you, the furrows chewing, cleaving deeper. They ate you up. You were alone out there and the world took you back in, reclaimed you into its endless folding” (6). One moment, Wayne is within sight. In the next moment, Wayne has disappeared, the water having swallowed him. In the scene following, Cee wakes “up on the beach alone” (7). She is unsure where her brother is. In all iterations of Wayne’s death...