Already a little tipsy, lying on the living room rug, I listen to my husband talk to women I’ve never heard of, about children I’ve never heard of, about events I had no idea happened, like a lice outbreak at the school. While he talks to the mom of a kid named Bebel, I think about how I’ve come to be a tourist in my own house, floating on a rug with a cocktail in hand, replying to thumbs- up emojis with tongue emojis.
-- Narration / Fernanda (chapter 4)

Importance: This passage underscores Fernanda’s emotional and domestic dislocation. As Cacá takes practical action to locate Cora, Fernanda retreats into intoxication and flirtation, highlighting her detachment from both the crisis and the everyday realities of her child’s life. Her description of herself as “a tourist in my own house” captures the extent of her alienation, suggesting that she occupies the space physically...