Nina

Nina is one of the novel’s primary characters. She lives in New York City with her girlfriend, Maura. She works as an editor. At the start of the novel, Nina is upset by the strings, because they throw her world into disarray. Nina thrives on order and control. Indeed, in one of her early chapters from the first “Spring” section, the narrator says that “Part of what Nina loved about being an editor were the rules, the clear and comprehensible laws of grammar and linguistics, and she loved wielding the power of the red pen to enact them (38, Erlick’s italics). Nina is therefore disoriented by the arrival of the boxes and strings. They are not only mysterious, but possess no known source or reason. The boxes and strings are thus a source of disruption in her life and for her character.

Despite Nina’s upset over...