A Long Way Down

Jess’s mother frequently returns—at least, Jess claims that she does—to the subject of Jen’s earrings. After Jen left, her favorite earrings were on her nightstand and no one moved them. But several weeks later they disappeared, leading Jess’s mother to accuse her of stealing them. Because Jess did not take them, and because she can always count on being accused again in the future, it gives her a reason to dismiss her mother as irrational and as incapable of listening to her. When Maureen points out that Jen must have come back and taken the earrings, if they were truly her favorites, it allows Jess and her mother to see each other in a more charitable light. It also adds the possibility that Jen might still be alive.

At the end of the novel, the Ferris wheel reinforces the mundane nature of life. They watch the wheel and can’t tell if it is moving or not, although they suspect it must be. This is a metaphor for life itself. Most of what happens in a day is unmemorable. Most experiences do not involve perceptible emotions or contain provocative implications. But the wheel turns, imperceptibly, in the same way that time passes. It also demonstrates that life will always have highs and lows, and once a person has boarded the wheel, they will always experience both.