Family

Family connections and dynamics are paramount to the thematic substance of the story, as much of the narrative tension is connected to the relationship dynamics within the Echota family. For example, the novel is structured around the days leading up to the annual bonfire to commemorate Ray-Ray. Maria, Ernest, and Sonja worry that Edgar will not arrive for the bonfire that year, as Edgar lives in another state now and is struggling with drug addiction. By contrast, Sonja still lives in the same town as her parents, “I lived in a small house down the road from my parents. I was glad I lived close to them, since Papa was seventy-four and in the early stages of Alzheimer’s” (45). These facts emphasize a sense of closeness and distance, for even though Sonja is geographically and emotionally close to her parents—while Edgar is more distant and...