In the opening chapters of the novel, the members of the Rubinstein family encounter a range of domestic and familial disputes that introduce The Tension Between Personal Autonomy and Familial Expectations. In Chapter 1, “Apple Cake,” Sylvia and Helen conflict over their differing opinions on the arrangements for their younger sister Jeanne’s memorial and funeral services. Each sister wants to have a part in remembering Jeanne, but their disagreements disrupt their former kinship and complicate how they see themselves. Even more crucially, because these conflicts erupt before Jeanne has died, her two older sisters allow their disagreement to taint their last moments with Jeanne.

Family tensions are also laced throughout Chapter 2, “New Frames,” for as Richard’s attempts to remake his life after his divorce from Debra, he must also balance his commitments to his young daughters and remain on speaking terms with his ex-wife. Similarly, the storyline of “F.A.Q.s” highlights Phoebe’s return home from college, which forces her to choose between her parents’ expectations and her own dreams for the future. In Chapter 4, “Ambrose,” sixth-grader Lily feels trapped by her academic and extracurricular responsibilities, longing to work on her private writing project instead of upholding her typical school-aged duties. While the protagonists in these four scenarios are markedly different, they all find themselves caught between who they want to be and how their families expect them to behave. As a result, they are all forced to question whether to pursue their own desires or to simply accept the roles that have been assigned to them.

Throughout these chapters, the author uses imagery and symbolism to capture her primary characters’ internal struggles. In Chapter 1, for example, the repeated image of the apple cake represents the continuation of family tradition. Although the recipe purportedly originated with Helen, the cake has become Sylvia’s trademark—her way of contributing in times of need. In this way, Sylvia uses the cake to express herself and to show her devotion to her family in the days surrounding Jeanne’s death. However, the cake also becomes the primary source of conflict in this chapter, as Helen feels that Sylvia is co-opting her identity by making the cake and passing it off as her own. Because this chapter (like all the chapters in the book) also functions as a standalone short story, the lingering bitterness of this sisterly dispute will echo through the family in the chapters to come.

In Chapter 2, Richard struggles with The Challenges of Navigating Family Conflicts even as he seeks to reinvent himself in the wake of his divorce. To this end, his new glasses represent his desire to create a new identity that is untouched by his relationship to his ex-wife. However, after Debra divorces Richard, he is left “scrambling to buy kitchen utensils” (26) and take care of other family basics. Once he starts seeing Corinne, he assumes a more carefree demeanor, which the glasses come to represent. As the narrative states, when he goes to pick up the new frames, the “errand [feels] ordinary [and] gray” (39), but when he leaves “with his new lenses […] the world change[s]. The train, the streets, the smallest details [are] precise. Revelation. Upgrade!” (39). Reveling in the new look that the glasses give him, Richard also alters his perception of reality; he feels buoyant, energetic, and unfazed by the sorts of conflicts which normally disrupt his peace of mind. This version of Richard has autonomy over his life, his decisions, and his emotions. However, he ultimately gives up the glasses—and his newfound autonomy—when Debra indirectly pressures him to break up with Corinne, citing his daughters’ well-being. He thus reverts to his old self: a person whom Debra and his daughters find more predictable. Deflated by this outcome, Richard feels that his familial responsibilities have denied him his independence and agency.

In Chapters 3 and 4, Phoebe and Lily similarly struggle to balance who they know themselves to be with how their family members perceive them. When Phoebe returns home for winter break, she chafes under her parents’ roof and their watchful gaze as they analyze her behavior and worry over everything she does. These constraints ultimately immobilize Phoebe, and her embrace of the violin becomes a way for her to break free of this scrutiny. The later images of her busking with her grandmother’s violin at the station and eating sweets in secret are emblematic of Phoebe’s true self—a perfect balance between family tradition and youthful liberation. She wants to be free to make decisions without calculation and to pursue an endeavor that matters to her. While her parents still expect her to tend chickens and make organic granola, embodying a responsible, diligent, and progressive persona, Phoebe has begun to forge a newer, more authentic path for herself. Similarly, Lily uses her private passion of writing to cultivate a stronger sense of self, and this new interest offers her a retreat from reality and helps her process her complex experience of the world. As she explores a freer form of expression that feels more natural and fluid, she begins to question the more rigid worlds of school and dance, both of which represent others’ expectations of her.

In all four chapters, the primary characters try to reconcile their own desires with the expectations of their loved ones. No matter how the characters confront this conflict, their family proves to be a powerful force in their lives and their choices. Much like the structure of the novel itself, the characters’ families offer an overarching umbrella by which they define themselves, but the protagonists also find that—much like the distinct, standalone short stories of the book—they are also individuals with their own needs, rules, and motivations.