comment on structure

Korelitz’s novel is divided into 36 chapters, excluding the foreword. Each chapter is labelled with a title and a subtitle alluding to the chapter’s contents. For instance, Chapter 36’s title and subtitle are “The Big Reveal: In which the 10th of September is observed, and also the 11th, and the last of the Oppenheimers leaves home” (452). These headings help keep track of the novel’s many characters while also building suspense through foreshadowing. The novel is divided into three parts. “Part One: The Parents, 1972-2001” explains Salo and Johanna’s back stories and the triplets’ childhoods. “Part Two: The Triplets, 2000-2001” looks at the triplets’ first year at college. “Part Three: The Latecomer, 2017” describes how Phoebe reunites her broken family.