46 pages • 1 hour read
Tillie ColeA Thousand Boy Kisses
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Intensity of Young Love
Love in young adult romance novels is often portrayed as intense and serious rather than fleeting or temporary. Poppy and Rune are even portrayed as “soul mates,” challenging the idea that teenage romances inevitably fade with time.
The early start to Poppy and Rune’s relationship is critical to its later intensity and distinguishes their love story from preconceptions readers may have about short-lived adolescent romances. When Rune first comes to Georgia, he resents moving to America but thinks, “Maybe Georgia won’t be so bad after all […] not if I have Poppy Litchfield as my very best friend” (5). Poppy and Rune are not just lovers but “very best friends,” implying deep compatibility. Moreover, the fact that they are drawn to one another as young children suggests their relationship is not principally based in physical attraction. As they grow older, Rune and Poppy go everywhere together and routinely spend their nights together—behavior that more closely resembles that of a married couple than an adolescent fling. All of this lays the groundwork for the intense love that lasts into the afterlife of the novel.
Though the novel does invoke the more usual understanding of teenage romances, it does so to generate conflict. James and Erik’s perspective on the relationship reveals how young love is typically perceived and portrayed. When Erik decides to move his family back to Oslo, Rune is upset, telling Erik, “I’ll never forgive you for taking her from me” (45). Erik responds that he understands Rune’s feelings, which only makes Rune angrier. Erik thinks he knows how Rune feels, and he assumes that Rune will get over his feelings for Poppy given time and distance. The events of the novel clearly prove Erik (and James) wrong, showcasing Poppy and Rune’s enduring bond.
It is not until the conclusion of the novel that the other characters realize just how intense Rune and Poppy’s love is. Rune’s behavior during Poppy’s final months and the way Poppy relies on Rune’s company to keep her spirits up reveal the truth of Rune and Poppy’s relationship. Their love is not grounded in kissing or having fun but in supporting each other even through the hardest of experiences. As Rune tells James when insisting on staying with Poppy: “I can’t leave her now, not when she needs me most. And I won’t leave her until she forces my hand” (276). Rune’s unwavering support for Poppy and Poppy’s unwavering desire to be with Rune show the power of their love, wiping away the doubts of the adults in their lives. The Epilogue further affirms this intense love by depicting Rune and Poppy’s continued relationship in the afterlife: It is a more than lifelong bond.
The Fleeting Nature of Life and the Importance of Memory
The novel introduces the importance of memory early on through Mamaw’s memory of Papaw’s “boy kisses.” Without knowing how short Poppy’s life would ultimately be, Mamaw gives Poppy the jar for boy kisses so she can remember and cherish the special moments in her life. Indeed, she suggests that it is the very briefness of such moments that makes them special: Poppy tells Rune that Mamaw loved Papaw’s kisses because “they didn’t stay for long,” adding, “She told me that the best and prettiest things never stay around for long” (18). This idea of brief, beautiful things dominates the novel, with cherry blossoms and music embodying the idea of temporary happiness or enjoyment and highlighting the importance of relishing life.
Poppy’s illness casts the concept of fleeting moments and happiness into much sharper relief. In particular, the two years Rune and Poppy lost while Rune was in Oslo emphasize the importance of every moment. When Rune finds out about Poppy’s illness, he repeats his vow to never forgive his father, saying, “You took me away for two years […] You made it so I couldn’t be with her while she fought […] And now it’s too late. She has months” (121). When the family left for Oslo, Rune was simply angry about losing any time with Poppy, but upon learning about Poppy’s illness, he realizes that those two years were also Poppy’s last two years. This subtle change in the nature of Rune’s anger—the shift from a personal to an interpersonal focus—reflects the importance of appreciating what is most important in life while it lasts.
Though Poppy does not live long after Rune returns, remembering Poppy and her optimism ultimately saves Rune from total despair. When Savannah tells Rune how sad she is one year after Poppy’s death, Rune explains that he struggles with grief as well. However, remembering Poppy helps Rune cope with her death, as he says: “Somedays, I feel her with me, like she’s not gone at all […] I can hear her voice, hear her infectious laugh. Hear her playing the cello” (346). These memories, following Rune through his daily life, protect him from feeling complete loss. Because of the memories he has of those fleeting moments, he can continue to live and love, carrying Poppy with him in his mind.
Emotional Resilience in the Face of Loss and Mortality
The novel shows characters coping with loss in various ways, ranging from embracing the pleasures of daily life to expressing anger and frustration. Even Rune and Poppy’s relationship is framed as a series of reactions to loss. Rune befriends Poppy because of her friendly optimism, which helps him to cope with losing his home country of Norway. Rune and Poppy’s romantic relationship begins as a reaction to Mamaw’s death: Poppy needs to start collecting boy kisses, and Rune cannot bear the thought of losing Poppy to anyone else. The couple then lose each other when Rune goes back to Norway, reconnect when he returns, and lose one another again—this time to Poppy’s literal death. Overall, the novel promotes expressing emotion, finding ways to cope with loss, and relishing life in the face of mortality.
When Rune returns to Norway, both Poppy and Rune experience the loss of their soul mate. Rune’s anger and Poppy’s decision to cut contact with Rune are both reactions to this loss, and the novel frames both reactions as valid and important. Poppy cuts contact to protect Rune but also to protect herself, knowing that she may not see Rune before she dies. Rune’s ensuing anger and sadness, though seemingly negative, are heartfelt reactions to losing Poppy, and he needs to express them to begin the process of recovery. Once Rune returns, he tells Poppy, “You told me that the past no longer matters. That it’s these moments that are important now” (218). Here, Rune signals his growing understanding that grief and loss are not overcome in an instant but through the appreciation of the time one has. Accepting Poppy’s illness and death is still a challenge, and Rune and Poppy still experience periods of sadness and anger, but they are better equipped to deal with loss after recognizing the need to enjoy each moment.
The lantern festival in the final chapter embodies the concept of releasing grief and accepting loss. Rune releases his kisses with Poppy up to heaven, allowing himself and his community the opportunity to say goodbye while celebrating Poppy’s life. Telling his father he loves him, Rune realizes, “If Poppy’s short life had taught me anything, it was that I had to learn to forgive. I had to love and I had to live” (321). Rune can only move past losing Poppy by embracing the life he has left, and this is the lesson the novel attempts to teach readers as well, stressing love, life, and forgiveness in the face of loss.
