The Life We Bury

The first chapters set the scene of the mystery the narrative will unravel. Joe is telling the story in first person, past tense, looking back. The first line sets a foreboding tone: "I remember being pestered by a sense of dread as I walked to my car that day [...]" (7). Joe is initially hesitant about interviewing Carl: While Joe's fellow students will have funny stories from grandparents, Joe will have a monster’s tale. He has procrastinated too long on this assignment, so he better take what he can get—Carl. However, Joe comes to see his unique interview subject as an advantage.

Chapter 3's conclusion foreshadows negative events to come: “When I finally fell asleep that night, I did so wrapped comfortably in the belief that my meeting with Carl Iverson would have no down side, that our encounter would somehow make my life better—easier. In hindsight, I was at best naïve” (29). Though the novel alludes to criminals, such as rapist and murderer Jeffrey Dahmer (27, 37) and bank robber and murderer Jeffrey Dillinger (12), Joe believes that his mother, Kathy, is the biggest monster of them all: “I might soon be interviewing a savage murderer, a man who gave no thought to ending a young girl’s life, a criminal who survived for more than thirty years in the worst hellhole prison in Minnesota, yet I did not dread that conversation nearly as much as I dreaded seeing my own mother” (29).

The emerging theme of familial obligation is apparent. Joe wants to unburden himself of his complicated family—an alcoholic mother and an autistic brother needing constant oversight—but cannot overcome his emotional ties. He fulfills his obligation to care for Jeremy in the face of Kathy’s DUI arrest but is upset at being pushed into the situation. He pauses the start of his drive to Austin, pulling over to shout, “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Why can’t you just leave me alone!” (16) as he pounds on the steering wheel. Kathy’s character, who is living with alcoholism, a gambling addiction, and mental illness, introduces themes of trauma and its mental and physical effects. When Kathy was a girl, her mother died, and Kathy’s condition worsened after her father’s death.

Joe is determined to rise above the environment he was raised in, seeking an education and getting out of Austin—a city known primarily for its production of Spam, a canned cooked pork that became popular after its use in World War II. Just like in the book, the real-life Austin, Minnesota is a small city—with a population of approximately 25,000 people—and is home to Hormel's corporate headquarters. The nickname Spam Town is real, and the 1986 strike and riots described in Chapter 2 really occurred. In the end, Hormel never gave into the workers' demands, and some 700 people were left jobless. (Risen, James. “Despite Settlement, It’s Still Not Over: Hormel Strike May Divide Town for Years to Come.” The Los Angeles Times. 1 September 1986. Web. Accessed 23 December 2019.) In setting the story in this context—a town with a hopeless backstory—the Minnesotan author has set a bleak scene, devoid of hope.