Out on a Limb

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and ableism.

“‘You see’—I let go of the hook’s inner handle and pull it away in my left hand, revealing my smaller, less-developed right hand underneath—‘I am in need of a hook.’ I wave at him mockingly, my tiny, curled fingers, shorter than the first knuckle, waggling as best as they can.”

This passage introduces Win’s limb difference in a humorous context as she challenges the pirate she’s just met at a party. Revealing her hand to this good-looking stranger indicates that Win feels comfortable showing her whole self to Bo early on. This meet-cute of the romance establishes their shared experience of limb difference, which will help bond them as a couple.

“I don’t try to force my body to be something or deprive it of pleasantness. It just is. And I like it, enough, as it is.”

Win demonstrates a comfort with and acceptance of her body that goes against common cultural pressures to conform to certain standards. She has learned not to be ashamed of her limb difference or any aspect of her body. In this acceptance, Bonam-Young makes a powerful argument about accepting differing body types without judgment.

“I have to fix this. I’m not this person—the one who pries and fumbles and makes someone feel uncomfortable about their body or its differences. I cannot be that person. That’d make me a massive hypocrite.”

Win’s unintended fumbling when she asks about Bo’s sexual prowess during her first encounter with him, and her subsequent embarrassment, introduces the novel’s theme of Perceptions About Disability and Ableism. Win knows better than to make assumptions about ability or to make someone feel inferior, and this moment of self-consciousness points to how easily ableist attitudes can surface.