The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

The theme of Embracing Change and Broadening Social Connections serves as the primary focus for these chapters, and although Nina experiences several setbacks due to internal anxiety and self-consciousness, she nonetheless celebrates a number of small victories in this category as she forges new connections and deepens her existing social network. While she enjoys the company of her friends, coworkers, and fellow trivia players, her declaration that she would rather be alone stems from her fear of feeling awkward or making a poor impression amongst new people. For this reason, she is very self-conscious around Tom despite her attraction to him, and this hampers the progress of their potential relationship. By contrast, she is far less worried about what her newfound family might think of her, and the strength of her character is demonstrated when she stolidly defends herself against Lydia’s belligerence in the emotionally chaotic meeting with the lawyer. She also presents an authentic version of herself in her first conversations with Peter and Archie, and she enjoys the feeling of comfort that she gains from spending time with her brother and nephew. Thus, although she retains her tendency to seek an escape whenever social situations become uncomfortable, she nonetheless demonstrates considerable resilience despite her unvoiced internal conflicts.

In an effort to inject humorous moments into the more serious aspects of the narrative, Waxman uses these chapters to intensify Nina’s habit of using Fiction as a Refuge and a Guide. This tendency serves Nina particularly well whenever she is confronted with social situations that she would rather avoid, as when she imagines Star Wars stormtroopers coming out of the lawyer’s building. In many ways, Nina’s interest in stories is linked to her habit of people-watching, for both tendencies illustrate her semi-detached approach to the world around her. Just as she prefers to view her own interactions through the lens of fiction, she also prefers to observe human interactions from the relatively safe vantage point of a car window or a camera lens. This element of distance allows her to draw incisive conclusions about people’s behavior without risking the anxiety that arises from botched social encounters. This mindset also accounts for her interest in books, movies, and television; she is interested in other people’s lives but often prefers to observe without interacting directly.

The inherent quirks of Nina’s personality are highlighted by the disparate interactions she has with other characters, as is her tendency to observe human behavior and apply it to her own life. For example, Lili’s situation foreshadows the imminent conflicts and choices that Nina herself must face, and observing Lili’s interactions with her family gives Nina the opportunity to develop valuable insights into these relationships, serving as a point of comparison for her own much more isolated family experiences. Nina herself was primarily raised by a nanny, and although her mother, Candice, believed that this approach would allow her daughter to develop inner resilience, her failure to acknowledge or ameliorate Nina’s feelings of being neglected led Nina to turn to fiction for solace. Thus, this aspect of the novel highlights a different angle of using Fiction as a Refuge and a Guide, reflecting Nina’s tendency to self-soothe by disappearing into solitude and fictional worlds. It is therefore fitting that she views the lives of others in the same instructional light that she views fiction. In her mind, the upcoming wedding illustrates the fact that new relationships are always forming, but by contrast, Lili’s loss of her husband warns Nina that love is often accompanied by loss. This detail emphasizes the fact that Nina currently believes that her lack of connection with William is a positive thing because she feels no need to grieve his loss. Likewise, she remains wary of romantic relationships due to her fear that they might end badly and cause her emotional pain.

Amongst the more serious themes at work, these chapters also feature the author’s humorous commentary on American culture, including a broad joke with the New York Times-bestselling author whose self-help book about unleashing the inner animal leads to havoc at Author Night. Waxman also levels wry observations on the gentrification of neighborhoods like Larchmont, poking fun at the businesses like juice bars and artisanal shops, which cater to trends that are commonly associated with more sophisticated tastes. The ultimate effect of such details is the creation of a realistic world that is designed to invoke common human experiences and appeal to a wide range of readers who may be struggling with similar issues in their own lives.