Art and life
There is a motif in the novel about art creation and life. These New York City creatives are entangled in stories that are as fascinating as any of Seeley's publications or Minkoff's documentaries. When Minkoff ends up dating Murray Thwaite, the novel takes the art question in the direction of thoughtful criticism. This points the motif back at the reader and the book, because the reader will also thoughtfully criticize the novel.
The accidental rejection
When Minkoff decides to introduce Seeley and Marina, she doesn't intend for them to fall in love. When they do, Minkoff is dejected and lonely; she wanted Seeley herself. Her symbolic rejection was even more potent because Seeley and Minkoff were already seeing each other, albeit casually, so that when he picks Marina, that comes with the sting of full-blown comparison. She cannot help but feel a drop in her self-esteem. This also casts a different light on her relationship to Thwaite.
The attacks
The novel is set in New York City in the year 2001. This means that when the novel's timeline crosses 9/11, the attacks on the World Trade Center become interwoven into the novel as symbolic. The nation and the world felt the waves of that attack, but none more than the residents of New York City. This changes everything in the city. Even Murray Thwaite, newly reminded of the ever-present threat of death, decides to leave his affair with Danielle to improve his relationship to his wife. The attacks bring about a loss of innocence and a new ever-present paranoia.
Marina's failure
Marina is a talented writer, but she can't seem to make the project come together. She has received a forward to help her finish the novel, but now the money is gone and she still doesn't have a book to show for herself. What's worse is that the critical opinions of her friends are fairly dependable, given their artistic insights, and they don't really love the book either. The symbolism shows a shame spiral, because Marina cannot write without self-confidence, but her lack of confidence makes her writing less emboldening. She is stuck in a feedback loop.
Thwaite as a symbol
The novel introduces a character named Bootie who researches Murray Thwaite's company. Unsurprisingly, this same man who was willing to cheat on his wife with Danielle seems also willing to cheat in other ways. What was supposed to be a nice research project quickly turns into a whistle-blowing, because Murray Thwaite's business practices are not ethical. He symbolizes the kind of progress that can be made by cheating to get ahead, something not entirely unfamiliar to New York City.
The name change
Bootie is lost in the attack on the World Trade Center towers. They think he is dead, and for a while they search and then quit searching. When they do discover him, he claims not to know who Bootie is. He says his name is Ulrich New, where the name "New" seems obviously symbolic. His "New" identity is a symbol pointing to the drastic difference between pre-9/11 life and post-9/11 life. His name change is also a symbol for identity and its mysterious nature. Nothing feels the same in New York, not even people's own experiences of self.
