Storytelling

Throughout the novel (ironically enough, as the reader is being told a story), the characters tell stories of their own. In his narration, Andy suggests that the (hobby? game?) of telling made-up stories is a result/manifestation of the desire he shares with Claire and Dag to avoid revealing themselves to each other and perhaps even to themselves (see Chapter 3). There is significant irony in this suggestion, in that the reader can easily see the thinly disguised truth behind the various stories. That is to say, Andy's story of Edward (Chapter 7), Dag's story of Otis (Chapter 12) and Claire's story of Linda (Chapter 22) can, as discussed in the analysis of those chapters, easily be seen as revealing more about the teller of the story than the teller perhaps realizes; or maybe he or she DOES realize what they're revealing, and is fully aware that telling stories is the only...