Memory

The primary method of delivery for this novel is through the memories of the various Tull family members. Through the rotation of perspective, the reader sees how memories can differ from person to person, and have differing effects on one’s psychological development. Beck is absent physically, but he is ever-present in the minds of the family he’s left behind. Beck in turn never forgets Pearl or the idea of impressing her. Jenny seeks to forget her childhood with distractions, while Pearl wallows in her memories of Beck. Cody hangs onto the past only through bad memories. Ezra appears to have amnesia, dwelling almost exclusively in his adult present and his nostalgic restaurant, visiting the past only through Pearl. At the end of the novel, Pearl and Beck exchange places, and Pearl becomes the absent one, living on in the family’s memory. With Beck’s return...