“I wake up with what he did every morning and I go to bed with it every night. It is my shabby substitute for a husband.”

At the beginning of the novel, the reader is unaware that Franklin is dead. The memory of Kevin’s massacre is the strongest, most insistent, most invasive reminder she has of her husband. Eva gets no relief from the reminders of Kevin’s crimes.

“The good life doesn’t knock on the door. Joy is a job.”

On the surface, Franklin appears to have a better time with Brian and Louise at dinner than Eva. However, she knows that Franklin’s boisterous enthusiasm is, at least in part, false. He hopes that by acting as if he is joyful at dinner, he will feel joy. This is a stark contrast to Kevin’s life. Kevin has no joy and no ability to pretend he does.

“Only a country that feels invulnerable can afford political turmoil as entertainment.”

The author sets the novel against the backdrop of the election drama in Florida. In the aftermath of Kevin’s murders, Eva can no longer see the political drama as being of critical importance. The epidemic of school shootings throughout the novel moves the election to the background as the country realizes it is not invincible.