Search for Self
The plot of the story involves a woman searching for the man she loves after he mysterious goes missing. However, the name of the woman is Izzy Ames which could be read in a way to suggest that Izzy aims to find something more than just a missing lover. The strange and convoluted path that Izzy follows to find Cyrus is not a simple missing person mystery but rather an almost psychedelic trip through a metaphorical desert as well as a literal one. This bizarre trek through a world where the opening lines of the novel asserts “bad things can happen” ultimately becomes an interior odyssey through Izzy’s mind in which she is searching for herself more than the sweetheart who has gone missing.
Dealing with Trauma
Just a few pages into the book, the narrator observes that four major characters are all damaged people “traumatized by something — poverty, neglect, unstable or missing parents.” Izzy is further traumatized by waking up one day to find Cyrus missing. This is then compounded by the trauma of realizing that neither of the other two nor anyone else seem to care enough to find out what happened. The title of the novel refers to the name of a retreat promising the path to healing from grief and the many traumas experienced in childhood. Izzy’s search for self is a deep dive into the effects of long-term trauma until it is confronted directly.
The Healing Power of Music
Music is an essential aspect of this literary endeavor. A limited-edition pink vinyl record featuring narration of the first two chapters enhances this connection. Even more suggestive are the chapter titles of the book. They refer to songs ranging from popular mainstream hits like “Losing My Religion” by REM to more alternative selections like P.J. Harvey’s “To Bring You My Love” to more cultish niche examples like “I am Stretched on Your Grave” by Dead Can Dance. Just this fractional list of the twenty chapters gives an indication of the dark tone of most of the songs. Characters are listening to music throughout the narrative and this focus on songs in a story about healing from trauma can be interpreted as at least a subconscious directive from the author for readers to intuit the message that listening even to songs with dark subject matter can be an effective way to deal with their own traumatic experiences. Listening to songs one shared a love of with someone who is no longer in one’s life is a very common reaction to that particular grief which makes the intense focus the connection between trauma and music immediately familiar to many readers.
