The Changeling: A Novel

“The five boroughs had been given up for dead. Still, there was some cracked magic in the air because that was when Lillian and Brian met. Each had journeyed from far-flung lands to find one another in Queens. Neither could’ve guessed the wildness that falling in love would unleash.”

This passage establishes the subtle fantastical tones that run throughout this novel, underscoring the theme of The Magic That Underlies Everyday Existence. Unlike most fantasy novels, where the reader processes unrealistic elements in the context of how the characters react to them, The Changeling’s fantastical elements are deeply intertwined with its realistic ones, so the love between Brian and Lillian comes across as an act of magic.

“A household like that will either break you or toughen you up. Maybe both. What was waiting on a woman to forgive you compared with having your father beat you up and steal your first paycheck?”

This passage characterizes Brian West as a man who grew up in an abusive household. While Brian’s later disappearance remains a mystery for most of the novel, this character detail raises the question of whether Brian will repeat or disrupt the abusive patterns that occurred during his childhood. This foreshadows the same question being asked of Apollo when he becomes a father.

“How could a man who held on to all these things just abandon his wife and child?”

Apollo’s early life is defined by the question of why his father abandoned him and his mother. Brian’s disappearance is complicated by the sudden arrival of the Improbabilia box, which contains artifacts of the romance that led to Apollo’s existence. Apollo cannot reconcile how Brian could hold on to those artifacts but abandon the people he loved.