Ma Lou

Ma Lou is one of the main characters of the novel. She is also the first person narrator of the opening and closing sections of the novel, both titled "Ma Lou." Ma Lou was once married to a man named Lou. Because she often called her husband My Lou, her family, friends, and community gave her the nickname Ma Lou. She had one son with Lou, Richard. After Lou's death, she sent her son to boarding school. Shortly thereafter, Richard began distancing himself from his mother. Eventually he stopped talking to her altogether. When Ma Lou learned that Richard had had a child with a teenage girl, she connected with the child Anne's mother, explaining that Richard had abandoned her too, and that she wanted to be a part of Anne's life. Over the years, she developed a relationship with her granddaughter.

For many years, Ma Lou...