The Plot

“He knew that he had chosen his lane and begun swimming, and he would not stop swimming until he held his own book in his own hands, at which point the world would surely have learned the thing he himself had known for so many years: He was a writer. A great writer.”

This quote establishes Jake’s single-mindedness early in the novel. He desires extensive public praise and long-term success for his writing. Jake defines himself by his occupation, and his focus on writing (and literary reputation) keeps him from suspecting his murderer.

“‘I just wanted to say how much I like your work.’ Jake felt, and noted, the physical sensation that generally accompanied this sentence, which he still did hear from time to time.”

At Ripley, when a poet named Alice flirts with Jake, his susceptibility to literary flattery foreshadows how Anna is able to get close to him so quickly. Jake’s bodily pleasure at being complimented will make him an easily duped mark.

“Stories, of course, are common as dirt. Everyone has one, if not an infinity of them, and they surround us at all times whether we acknowledge them or not. Stories are the wells we dip into to be reminded of who we are, and the ways we reassure ourselves that, however obscure we may appear to others, we are actually important, even crucial, to the ongoing drama of survival: personal, societal, and even as a species.”

This passage speaks to the power of storytelling. It offers answers to why people tell stories: why people write. For fiction writers, the story is often the most compelling aspect of the writing process because it offers methods for defining identity and interconnectedness.