Real Americans

“Matthew proposed a restaurant I had never been to, because I didn’t make enough money to eat there. It was where celebrities went, I’d always imagined. Or CEOs.”

This passage speaks to Lily’s characterization as well as her relationship with Matthew. Lily, who was not born into privilege, works as an unpaid intern at a media corporation. She struggles financially and knows on some level that her post-college career choice has to be economically sound. She does not have the luxury to work in an underpaid field. Although Lily is initially drawn to Matthew by his personality, she cannot help but notice the financial gulf between the two, and she views him through the lens of his wealth and affluence.

“My mother was a scientist like somebody might be a painter, wholly and obsessively. It was her entire life.”

This passage speaks to May’s characterization as well as to the novel’s interest in the theme of Fraught Family Relationships. Because May is so driven and focused on her professional career, she neglects her relationship with her daughter, Lily. The two will struggle to feel a sense of connectivity for much of their lives, but the fact that they reconcile at the end of the novel gestures toward the author’s interest in the possibility of hope and reconnection in difficult familial relationships.