Where in humour used in the book when talking about sensitive topics?

How do you go about creating a metaphor for an all-time kiss? It’s a tough nut to crack since so many books over the centuries have included so many all-time kisses. The author here makes an interestingly unexpected choice:

“Three years’ worth of stored-up kissing and passion were waiting to be accessed and she wanted to drain the reservoir.”

The legacy of the history of the push westward by European culture through the untamed frontier has lingering effects. To paraphrase a lyric by Gang of Four, history’s the reason that Native Americans are washed up. A metaphor here turns on the aftereffects of this unfortunate legacy:

“About twice a day, a passenger train would speed through the forested hills as if afraid to stop—rumour had it there were Indians about.”