Irony of Future
At the beginning of the novel, Sasha knows her date will forget their experience, leaving it in the dust as he explores the beginning of his time in New York. She half desires to get better, but she does not know how her story will develop. As the reader, we know the novel begins with the moment in time at which it does, and we understand she is the first main character. Therefore, we watch her struggle with kleptomania and know it will end.
Understatement of Bernie
Throughout the novel, characters continually understate the state of affairs in their lives. Bennie does not understand he is losing his grip on modern music, even though he knows it is getting away from him. He does not seem to understand how extreme his attempts at retaining sexual vitality - even going so far as to use gold flakes in his coffee - are.
Overstatement of Youth
The youngest characters in the novel take everything the most seriously. In particular, Sasha's children are devoted to their passions. There is even a Powerpoint about silences in songs. The latter parts in the novel take each of the events as important at a global level, from the pivotal concert to how influencers prepare the world for it. The irony of this rests with the fact that the reader has watched an earlier generation grow older, even though the beginning of the novel begins when they are already jaded.
Irony of Change
Sasha's group from a safari gets together for a reunion, but they have nothing in common to discuss. They do not know how to interact, and it turns out that the strange bird-watching women were observing the interactions between the group throughout the trip. During the lead-up to the reunion, the characters seem to believe there will be something to do when reunited; the reader waits and sees that there is nothing left between them without the setting.
Continuity between Generations
Because the novel takes place over so many years, we see how possessions are passed down through generations and attain different functions. For instance, the sword from the safari's leader gets passed down until it is put behind glass and displayed by his descendant, a Westernized individual who attends Columbia University. Egan shows how people share narratives between generations, but so much of this transmission occurs as parents and children learn about the world from one another and cannot ever experience the full picture of events.
