Penitence

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child death, substance use, addiction, mental illness, and illness.

“Martine looks at him silently, maintaining her poker face. It’s always been one of her best features as a lawyer: no one ever knows what she’s thinking.”

Complex characterization is an important aspect of this novel, and Martine is characterized initially both through her complex family history and through her work as a defense attorney. She is competent and skillful, evident in her ability to maintain a “poker face”—a facial expression that does not show what she is thinking or feeling. Despite her success as a lawyer, her work often places her at odds with the community. In particular, David has mixed feelings about her because he takes issue with her ability to defend people who have committed violent crimes without seeming to pass any judgment.

“Nora looks like an unfinished statue, a marble figure frozen in place by a sculptor who forgot to add life to his creation.”

Nora is only 13 when she shoots Nico, and initially, she is both numb and terrified. This quote employs a simile comparing Nora to an “unfinished statue,” which emphasizes how her development is still underway. Further, the image of a “marble figure frozen in place” evokes the entrapment Nora feels, as if her potential has been neglected by a “sculptor.” The absence of “life” in her creation highlights her emotional emptiness. Kristin Koval’s characterization emphasizes Nora’s youth and creates a sense of heightened tension. It is unusual for people so young to commit acts of violence with firearms; consequently, Nora is in a difficult situation for which she is entirely unprepared.