London
The first body of imagery in the book is introduced in two ways. First of all, Georgie knows it as the place her mother and she used to live together, and when she thinks about that, she becomes overwhelmed, because London is also the scenery of change, not because London changes, but because without her mother, nothing feels the same anymore. When Francesco's ghost enters the novel, the ghost wonders whether it is stuck in purgatory, indicating that London is somewhat neutral, and it is the drama of life that is really at play.
Italy and memory
Georgie went to Italy with her mother to see a gallery of Francesco del Cossa's artwork, and the memory of Italy haunts Georgie after the mother's death. The tangible imagery of Italy is obviously splendid and beautiful, but the paintings that they found there together are painful to think about, painful to look at. The novel describes Georgie trying to travel backwards into the past to remember her mother going through the gallery, or walking in the Italian markets.
Art and self
Georgie decides to open up to Francesco's paintings and some strange journeys begin. The first journey is the artist's journey back to earth as a ghost to haunt her. By haunting her, he helps her have a meaningful experience of his artwork, and this helps Georgie to feel she has become more like her mother. In the wake of the death, she wants to preserve her mother, and by accepting an appreciation for her mother's favorite art, she manages to incorporate her mother's self into her own. Together, these form a depiction of art as the method for self-exchange.
Death and the sublime
As noted, the novel includes depictions of the afterlife, but notice how Georgie's mother is still absent from the story. That death is permanent and final, but somehow, Francesco del Cossa gets to come back from death as a ghost to enjoy an encounter with a living human, Georgie. Why isn't it Georgie's mother that she encounters? The novel points to art as a key answer to the question of death, and the depictions of death and the afterlife are a little bit creepy, suggesting that art is what survives, and her mother isn't mentioned in the afterlife because she already went to heaven, whereas Francesco stays in an in-between place, helping the humans who come to his artwork for emotional assistance.
