“These are the days after. Everything now is measured by after.”
The assertion alludes to the days in the wake of a world marked by terror, all the consequences, trauma, fear, paranoia and grief. Keith and most of the characters in the novel have had their lives change following the 9/11 attacks. The times that follow the awful event are completely impacted by this act of terror. In how individuals approach their daily lives following the loss and mental ordeal. Moreover, how the perception of the world has shifted in regards to terrorism and the nature of man.
“The windblast sent people to the ground. A thunderhead of smoke and ash came moving toward them. The light drained dead away, bright day gone. They ran and fell and tried to get up, men with toweled heads, a woman blinded by debris, a woman calling someone’s name.”
Through Keith’s perspective, the statement recalls the ensuing happenings following the collapsing of the World Trade Center during the terrorist attack. From this viewpoint, the novel captures the gruesome ordeal the victims underwent during the 9/11 attacks. The assertion captures the harshness, anguish, and terror of the day by elaborating the effects on a subjective level. During the attack onlookers who were farther away saw the event happen on a larger scale but only understood it from a personal standpoint from the victims’ experiences. Thus, akin to the title, which alludes to the controversial image of a man falling during the attack, the novel tries to express the horrific experiences from this subjective stance.
“What you see is not what we see. What you see is distracted by memory, by being who you are, all this time, for all these years.”
This statement is casually uttered during a conversation between Martin, Lianne and her mum, Nina. However, it encompasses the essence of the novel particularly because each character in the narrative is affected directly or indirectly by their memories. In that, memories play a huge part in the resolves of the characters. Keith is incapable of forgetting the dreadful memories of the attack. Whereas Lianne is similarly concerned about losing her memories whilst also frequently thinking of the happenings of 9/11. Thus, memories play a huge role in how the characters view themselves.
