Cartoon Allusion
The protagonist who has returned to her hometown finds that her best friend from school has disappeared. They have been estranged ever since "The friendship fell off a cliff...like Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons." This simile uses the comparative power of allusion to a mainstay of pop culture to derive its meaning. Almost every reader is likely to be familiar with the imagery from Warner Brothers cartoons. It is also effective in keeping with the overall emphasis on animals in the book.
A Side Dish
The first significant use of a metaphor in the book is when Clive Starling remarks he "might as well be chopped liver." This metaphor is from a well-worn idiom that originates from the fact that liver was traditionally a side dish rather than an entree. Thus, Clive is complaining—in relation to his name not even appearing in a newspaper article about his daughter—that his part in in the creation of this child who seems to have born with healing powers is not getting the focus of attention it deserves.
Bambi II
Clive Starling is not used to being treated like chopped live. The following simile helps to explain why. "So, this particular deer, whom Clive Starling quickly named Bambi, as though he were a man with no imagination and not a professional poet, ate Corn Pops straight from Clive's palm." The comparison of Clive to the kind of unimaginative type who would go for the obvious deer name is ironic because Clive clearly could have been more creative. The comparison is also useful for illustrating Clive's sardonic use of irony to make it clear he is worthy of being more than a side dish in life.
Like Jesus, but not in a Sacrilegious Way
The two young women whose friendship fell off a cliff both grew up demonstrating unusual healing powers. "Crystal used to insist that with Emma's power she could be like Jesus." As John Lennon discovered, it is also tricky business to compare a simple human with Jesus. The simile here is really not that all that sacrilegious, however. Emma simply demonstrated powers that surpassed Crystal's. The irony is that Crystal is missing and presumed dead and Emma's efforts to resurrect her are failing miserably.
Emma's Dad
Emma Starling has dropped out of med school and returned to her hometown to take care of a dying father with severe neurological problems. He is not chopped liver to her. "Her father had always taken up so much space. All the oxygen in the room." This metaphorical imagery is the presentation of a man who clearly never saw himself as a sidekick to anyone, not even his own daughter. And the little girl who was the centerpiece of that newspaper article knows this fact well. Nevertheless, she loves him and is perfectly okay with being the side dish to his incessant need to always be the entree.
