Memory

Strout uses memories to demonstrate how our perception of the past changes with our present situation. Much of the novel takes place as a series of memories, but which specific times characters choose to dwell on changes based on their present situation. When Olive and Jack fought for example, he remembered the happiest times with Betsy, yet on the whole he typically recalled the ways that he had allowed that relationship to deteriorate. Similarly, though he generally acknowledged how manipulative Elaine had been to him, when he sees her in Shirley Falls, he remembers first how much he loved her, and the smaller details of their affair like his love for her feet. Later, once he had time to process, his memory returned to her coldness, but in the brief moment after he saw her, the focus of his memory shifted.

The narrative style of Olive...