46 pages • 1 hour read
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
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Literary Devices
Setting
Setting plays a unique role in The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, for the city of Los Angeles, becomes a character in its own right and contextualizes many of Nina’s experiences. In many novels, setting powerfully influences the characters’ actions and provides implicit metaphors, and Waxman employs these aspects of setting as well. For example, when the narrator discusses the jacarandas in bloom and compares them to a larger transformation of the city, this detail foreshadows the transformation that Nina herself will undergo.
Similarly, Waxman often pauses to insert discussions about the city itself, and some descriptive passages offer up a blend of affection and humor. For example, Waxman describes the valley as an “unnatural oasis” (95) and sums up the evolution of the movie business as going from “jerky ants in old footage” (95) to eventually embrace the tumultuous conventions of reality TV. Some descriptions continue this blend of homage and humor, such as the description of the “joie de vivre all Angelenos have” (235) and the assertion that “Los Angeles runs on youthful optimism, endorphins, and Capital Letters” (235). Later, at the Larchmont street festival, the narrator makes light fun of Los Angeles’s “signature perfume: sunscreen and money” (253). Enfolded in the humor are accurate cultural assessments, such as the attitudes that residents of the West side hold toward those who live in the East, and the difference between the city proper and towns like Malibu or Santa Monica. Likewise, the lightly fictionalized version of Larchmont, a real Los Angeles neighborhood, further suggests that Waxman is using the novel to convey her own perceptions of the city even as she uses it as a way to illustrate specific influences on her characters’ lives.
Point of View
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill makes use of a point of view that is not often seen in women’s fiction or romances: the third-person omniscient narrator. This “all-knowing” narrator can survey the action surrounding a character and can also dive at will into the thoughts and feelings of specific people. While the narrative primarily reflects Nina’s internal thoughts and motivations, it occasionally adopts Tom’s point of view or describes the actions of peripheral characters, such as when Lili and her daughter Clare watch Tom and Nina dance at the wedding. In this example, Clare’s declaration that she was correct in predicting that Tom and Nina would kiss demonstrates the supporting characters’ hopes for the protagonist, indicating Nina’s connections to the people in her life.
In addition to maintaining this omniscient perspective, the narrator frequently adopts an informal, conversational tone and “breaks the fourth wall” by referring directly to the reader. However, this is not a complete switch to the second person perspective. Instead, it is meant to invite the reader into the story, as with the opening line, “Imagine you’re a bird” (3). This move keeps the tone playful and light overall.
Graphics
Nina’s planner functions as a symbol for how she handles her anxiety, and the graphics used to illustrate Nina’s planner add a note of whimsy even as they provide an indirect commentary on the plot. Some entries reveal Nina’s goals while others highlight her worries; for example, the graphic preceding Chapter 24 reflects her resolution to exercise more often, while another entry features two versions of her family tree, representing her efforts to make sense of the new family she has suddenly discovered, as well as her place within it. Graphics are not often found in adult novels, but their use here adds playfulness and humor to the story.
Allusion
Much of the novel’s humor relies upon its frequent allusions to pop culture references from different eras. These allusions build provide considerable insight into the characters, and the most prominent examples of this trend can be found in Nina’s tendency to relate her own life to scenes from classic literature, films, and television shows that were popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. Sometimes the allusions are used to prove when Nina is in tune with another character, as in a conversation with Archie where they swap shared cultural references and strengthen their new bond. At other times, the allusions foreshadow conflict, as when Nina approaches the offices of her father’s lawyer and imagines stormtroopers from the Star Wars franchise swarming from the building.
One allusion that plays an important role in the plot is the 1943 novel The Human Comedy, written by William Saroyan. The novel describes the life of a young teen named Homer who lives in Fresno, California, during World War II and navigates relationships with his family, friends, co-workers, and romantic interest. The Human Comedy studies loneliness as one of its central themes. Reading this book makes Nina aware of her own loneliness and compels her to reach out to Tom. Later, when she discovers the book in her father’s library, she feels comforted by the thought that William must have enjoyed the same book she does.
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