“It is the summer of my crucifixion.”
One thing you can almost bet the farm on: when the second sentence of a novel is as starkly metaphorical as this, the rest of the book is going to be filled with metaphorical imagery as well. Few writers are willing to take the risk of kicking off things with a rejection of the literal and the committing to the literal afterward. As far as simple metaphors go, this one is rich with potential for complex meaning.
“Juliet Hope was white and pure.”
Out of context, this seems a simple enough metaphor. Placed into context, however, and it almost seems more like a literal observation. The paragraph which opens the section leading to this assessment by the narrator is devoted to an almost mystical obsession with the perfection of Juliet’s rear end. Two sentences prior to this metaphor, the narrators muses about Juliet’s favorite sexual position. So it is not just metaphor, but irony. Together, they present fascinating insight into the troubled psyche of the narrator.
Inspiration from Jed
Jed is the sometimes-boyfriend of his mom and he looks up to him. The narrator is a collector of stories told by others and Jed has a great supply. To his credit, the narrator is even willing to credit Jed for a good line even when Jed isn’t around:
“Ain’t nothing sadder than bannock without raspberry jam—that’s just about as sad as a one-bark dog! (Jed taught me that one.)”
Juliet, again
The narrator reserves most of his best metaphor for Juliet. She is the love (or lust) of his life, after all, and he sees in her a million different things. Through metaphor, the reader eventually collects a rather intensely colored portrait of her literal physical appearance. Doubtlessly, her pale skin contrasts magnificently with her hair which:
“looked like a fire on a mountain rolling down into the forest.”
Just One Look
How hard has the narrator fallen for the maybe-not-so-angelic Juliet? It only takes one look from her in the right way at the right moment and under the right conditions and suddenly:
“I felt alive, like I had fallen from the sky with the grace of God, with the petals of God, and I had finally spread my wings.”
