Grief

Much of the novel’s narrative focus centers around the dynamics of grief and bereavement, and the novel sues this thematic focus as a means of exploring grief as an ongoing and often uncertain process. The novel establishes this theme very early in the story, as the narrative begins at the shivah—a Jewish grieving ritual—for Dina and Larry’s father. The novel uses this context to examine how, while a formal outlet for grief can be helpful, it may also sometimes hinder more personal, private forms of mourning. Larry, whoa t that time is living a secular life, finds the shivah cumbersome and unhelpful: “[Larry] really thought nothing could add to the despair of his father’s loss. But this, this quiet, muttering stream of well-wishers has made it, for Larry, all the worse” (3). Through this tension, the novel foreshadows the ongoing, messy, and...