Colors

Colors are a major part of the story because they represent Leigh’s life and the slow decline of her mental health.

For the first half of the novel, colors represent Leigh’s emotions and how she perceives the world. There are many situations where she imagines someone else’s mood or actions as a color. One example is when her father walks out of Waipo and Waigong’s apartment. Leigh imagines him as “apologetically fuschia” (60). Another example is when Waipo is arguing with Leigh’s father. Leigh describes their voices as “burnt sienna, his kings blue” (57). Leigh also uses colors to describe herself. When she experiences a memory of her family, she says, “I stand there with my feet rooted into the carpet of that memory, watching my ribs crunch together and pulverize my heart… the grief spills out of me sepia dark” (73). Leigh and...