Shay

Shay is the book’s central character, the person whose perspectives and experiences define its core thematic considerations. It is not necessarily appropriate to say she is its protagonist, in that the book’s various sections are not linked by a consistent, protagonist-motivated plot. It is also not necessarily appropriate to say that Shay is the protagonist of each of the book’s sections, as there are several – e.g., “The Rivals,” much of “Blondes” and “Sirens,” and large portions of “Elephants’ Graveyard” - in which she is on the fringes of the story. Nevertheless, the book’s overall thematic considerations are all connected to Shay’s experiences and growth over the twenty or so years that she is what her husband Senna calls “the mistress” of her vacation home on Madagascar, the so-called Red House.

Key points to note about Shay’s character and identity include the...