The Night We Lost Him

“The last time I saw my brother was more than five years ago.”

Liam’s family is complex, and its dynamics are fraught. Here, Nora explains the gulf that exists between her and the children from her father’s other marriages. She and her siblings were not close in childhood, nor are they close in adulthood. Nora’s antipathy for her brothers is a key aspect of her characterization, and the author introduces her through the story of her fractured family.

“I zero in on the photograph. My father looks strong, intense, and virile against the mountainscape backdrop. I’m not surprised that this is the photograph the newspaper used.”

Liam defined himself in large part by his career success and prominent position within the real estate industry. He liked to project an image of strength, capability, and confidence, and his sons inherited his interest in having a carefully managed image. However, Nora is critical of this curated presentation of her father, as it represents how little she knew him in their personal life.

“For me, a project always starts with a central image, something that identifies what a space or a property can most organically be.”

This passage helps characterize Nora and differentiates her from her father and brothers. While the Noone men are driven by ego, the desire to succeed, and profit, Nora is motivated by a deep and abiding love for architecture and design. For her, work is about creativity, focus, and the marriage of form and function. She cares about the finished product and about bringing a space to life much more than she cares about money or status.