Nora Spangler

Nora Spangler is the main character of the novel. In the narrative present, she is married to Hayden and has a four-year-old daughter, Liv. She is also pregnant with her second child and working full-time as a litigator at the firm Greenberg Schwall. Because Nora has an impressive academic background, and has devoted herself to her work for some time, she is determined to become partner at her firm in the coming year. However, her devotion to her work compromises her abilities to run her household and care for her child and husband. Nora constantly feels frustrated that Hayden is not contributing enough at home. Worse yet, Hayden does not seem to realize how much Nora works. Whenever she tries communicating her feelings, she becomes emotional, or focuses on petty issues rather than the real reasons for her frustrations.

Meanwhile, Nora has become obsessed with buying a...