Blue Sisters

“Of all the girls, Nicky was the most girl.”

This quotation shows how Nicky is presented as a character within the novel even though she dies before the narrative begins. Memories from her sisters keep Nicky’s identity alive, and this reveals how love and family can endure in the face of grief. The quotation also shows how Nicky was distinct from her sisters; her distinctive personality and contributions to the family dynamic explain why she is so deeply missed.

“But what they don’t know is this: As long as you are alive, it is never too late to be found.”

This quotation establishes the tone of hope and redemption that pervades the novel even as the plot engages with themes of grief and loss. The narrative gradually reveals that the surviving sisters can move past their loss if they are open and authentic with one another. This quotation ensures that despite The Enduring Impact of Grief, healing and renewal are always possible.

“It scattered Lucky and her sisters to their corners of the world, without any intention of returning home.”

This quotation describes the geographic distance that emerges between the sisters in the wake of Nicky’s death. It also reveals that none of the places where the three sisters live (London, Paris, and California) are truly home to them: Home is New York because of its association with their childhood and with Nicky. Because none of the sisters intends to return home, they are not truly building sustainable futures and are instead running away from their sense of pain and loss.

“Mostly, she was just done being a mom, a mantle Avery stoically took up in her place.”

Early family dynamics impacted the relationship between the sisters and shaped the formation of Avery’s character. Because their mother distanced herself from her daughters and did not provide a nurturing presence, Avery took on an adult role as a young child. The pseudo-maternal relationship that Avery has with her younger sisters makes her both loving and resentful toward them.

“I just love you […] that’s why I’m pushing you.”

Avery speaks these words to Bonnie when she expresses her confusion and disapproval about the life Bonnie is leading. At the start of the novel, Bonnie is working as a bouncer at a local bar, and Avery does not think that Bonnie is living up to her potential. The quotation reveals how Avery takes on a role similar to that of parent when engaging with her sisters, and how her love for them can actually be alienating because it manifests as pressure and disapproval.

“If she was honest, the wanting had been there all along, but the hope started after his divorce. Hope was the dangerous thing.”

Bonnie considers her hidden romantic feelings for her trainer and friend, Pavel. Although Bonnie has been in love with Pavel for a long time, she has never believed he could return her feelings. The quotation reveals how Bonnie (like her sisters) has a difficult time being honest and authentic with people she cares about; by denying and hiding her feelings, Bonnie engages in a form of emotional self-sabotage.

“Avery loved saying she lived in Hampstead because of all it instantly communicated about her—-togetherness, taste, and wealth.”

This quotation describes Avery’s feelings about the elegant and privileged life she leads in a monied neighborhood of London. Avery has self-consciously curated her life so that she can project the image she wants, but this consciousness about her image reveals her insecurity and lack of authenticity.

“She had lived her entire adult life minimizing risk to avoid being caught off guard by pain, yet she had not protected herself from this.”

This quotation describes Avery’s shock and pain after Nicky’s sudden death. While all the sisters suffer in different ways, Avery’s pain is rooted in her desire for control and success: She feels she has failed because she couldn’t protect her beloved sister. Nicky’s death is particularly painful because it disrupts Avery’s conception of herself and leads to her question who she truly is.

“As a wife, as a sister, as a woman, she was wanting.”

Avery’s self-confidence begins to falter, foreshadowing how she will subsequently engage in self-destructive behavior. Because she could not keep Nicky safe, Avery begins to question her efficacy in other areas of her life. She also feels threatened by the dilemma in her marriage: Though she does not want to have a child, she also does not want to disappoint her wife. Ironically, Avery’s sense that she is failing as a sister, wife, and woman is what leads her to behave in destructive ways. Had she had more confidence and faith, she could have better met the needs of others.

“You’ll always be Nicky’s baby.”

Lucky hears these words spoken by a nightclub security guard while she is partying in London. However, Lucky is never able to trace back who spoke these words and it is likely that she imagined or hallucinated them. The quotation suggests that Lucky is tormented by grief and haunted by memories of her sister even while she seems to be living a carefree life. Lucky drinks and consumes drugs in efforts to forget about Nicky, but these substances only cause memories to resurface.

“Being one of four sisters always felt like being part of something magic. Once Bonnie noticed it, she saw the world was made up of fours.”

This quotation describes the symmetry and harmony that existed between the sisters prior to Nicky’s death. As a group of four, the sisters naturally divided into pairs and balanced their dynamics with one another. Because of these initial patterns, it is extremely difficult for the surviving sisters to rebuild a new dynamic as a group of three.

“She looked like something that had just spilled, like a vase of violets tipped over.”

This image uses figurative language to describe the traumatic moment when Bonnie finds the body of her deceased sister. The quotation uses a simile to compare Nicky to flowers that have been tipped out of their vase, capturing Nicky’s youth, beauty, vibrancy, and the shock of her death. The quotation reveals how terrible it was for Bonnie to find her sister dead, and how this memory is indelibly etched into her mind.

“The nurses in the hospital treated her like a criminal. They thought she was there for the drugs.”

This quotation describes the challenges Nicky faced while struggling with chronic pain and a disease (endometriosis) that is often poorly understood. The struggles Nicky faced in accessing pain relief ironically eventually drove her to buy painkillers illegally, and this practice contributed to her death. The quotation shows how stigma around drugs and addiction contributes to suffering, both for individuals with chronic medical conditions and for individuals experiencing addiction.

“Could she love a child because her sister would have loved a child? Because Chiti would?”

Avery feels ambivalent about becoming a mother. Both Avery’s sister and her wife have lifelong dreams of becoming mothers, which makes Avery question why she doesn’t want the same thing. Avery also feels especially guilty because Nicky’s desire to become a mother led her to refuse the surgery that could have ended her pain and possibly prevented her death. These factors lead Avery to act as though she wants a child, even though she is doubtful about her own feelings.

“It struck her with sudden clarity that the best way to honor her sister would be to live life the way Nicky had wanted to, wide-awake and not numbing any part of it. But she didn’t know how.”

This quotation reveals Lucky’s capacity for self-awareness and her struggle to live up to being the person she wants to be. Lucky knows what it would take to live a life that honors Nicky’s memory, but she is too alone and lost to navigate that transition. Like all her sisters, Lucky avoids authenticity and genuinely being present, numbing herself to avoid grief instead.

“Avery never made mistakes, or at least she hadn’t for a long time. That was Lucky’s job in the family.”

Lucky’s thoughts reveal her erroneous perception of herself and her sister. In an instance of dramatic irony (where readers have access to information that a character does not), Lucky has no idea that her older sister has engaged in adultery. Lucky sees herself as a failure and lionizes her sister, believing that Avery is perfect. These misplaced perceptions, paired with a lack of honesty, leads to the absence of genuine connection between the sisters.

“Because if we did, it would have been you in that casket, not her.”

Avery speaks these words to Lucky, implying that Lucky should have been the one to die. This quotation represents one of the lowest moments in the relationship between the sisters: There is a real risk of their relationship fracturing beyond repair. Avery says something cruel because she is grieving, frightened, and in pain; the quotation shows how grief can lead to people pushing each other away.

“You’re right that Nicky’s death didn’t only happen to Lucky. But it also didn’t only happen to you.”

Bonnie speaks this quotation to Avery, rebuking her older sister for her conflict with Lucky. Bonnie has empathy for both her sisters, but she is also frustrated that neither of them acknowledges the impact of Nicky’s death for her. Bonnie recognizes that grief is rendering her sisters selfish and that they need to come together in the face of tragedy, not be driven apart by competition over who is suffering the most.

“I’m an alcoholic, Riley. And an addict. And I really think I need to be sober, but I have no fucking clue how.”

Here, Lucky finally admits that she is experiencing addiction. For much of the novel, Lucky insists that she is fine and simply enjoys partying. This admission demonstrates Lucky finally displaying honesty, vulnerability, and self-awareness. By itself, the admission won’t resolve Lucky’s struggle with addiction, but it does represent the first step toward seeking the help she needs.

“We have to talk about this stuff or it’s going to keep killing us one by one.”

Avery speaks this quotation to her mother, lamenting the lack of honesty and openness about the family’s struggles with addiction. Avery feels frustrated that her parents’ tendency to avoid difficult conversations has been passed along to the sisters, and she blames her mother for her own inability to communicate honestly with her partner. The quotation represents a rare moment where Avery directly and honestly addresses her anger, grief, and regrets.

“A lot was written about romantic love, Avery thought, about the profundity of that embrace. But this, too, was deserving of rapture, of song.”

Avery’s thoughts capture the profound love she feels for her sisters and critique the cultural tendency to accord romantic love greater significance than familial love. While the novel does explore desire and romantic love, the central focus of the text is the intense emotional bond between a group of sisters. Avery’s celebration of this love reflects how enduring the bond between siblings often is, and how it can be formative because it endures throughout one’s life.

“I miss her and I miss her and I miss her […] there’s just no end to the missing. There was life before and there’s life now.”

Avery finally speaks openly to Chiti about her grief. While this moment only occurs after Avery and Chiti have decided to end their marriage, it represents a moment of healing and connection for the two women. Expressing her grief doesn’t alter the reality of it, but for once, Avery’s sense of loss allows her to connect with someone rather than leading to isolation. The quotation reflects a new stage in Avery’s experience of loss.

“Sixty days at the Monday meeting.”

This quotation occurs 10 years after the events of the primary plot; Lucky has pursued a successful career as a musician but has continued to struggle with her sobriety. In the quotation, Lucky proudly reports that she has been sober for two months. The quotation shows the complexity of addiction and reveals that Lucky may struggle to stay sober for the rest of her life; however, it also offers a moment of hope and shows Lucky’s resilience and willingness to keep trying.