Abby

Abby is the first-person narrator of the novel. She is approximately 30 years old, married to Ralph. The two start the novel dealing with Ralph's mother's suicide. Abby is impatient, wanting to move out of the house that they moved into to take care of Ralph's mother, Laura. She is also intent on conceiving a child with Ralph and becoming a mother herself.

Abby was raised by a single mother and recounts stories about how the boyfriends her mother had would often turn out to be no good, and when her mother fought with them, she would often try to rope Abby in to guilt them. She was also emotionally neglected, knowing even as a child that her mother seemed to care more about finding a romantic connection than nourishing her connection with her daughter. This perhaps has an influence on how she acts as an adult. Abby is...