Elle’s rumminations to stay in her marriage or run off with Jonas is complex. Author Heller weaves in the complications of life, both emotional and pragmatically. Marriage is complicated, life is fluid, choices are complicated.

O'Neill, Lauren (2022-07-20). "How Reese Witherspoon's Book Club changed Hollywood for women". inews.co.uk . Retrieved 2023-02-06. The novel is set in Cape Cod, a setting the author describes with vivid intimacy. In what ways has this place grounded and shaped the lives of the Bishops? Elle meets a boy named Jonas one summer in Cape Cod in the 1970s, when she is nearly eleven and he is about eight. Photo by Jermaine Ulinwa on Pexels.com A year later, Wallace finds Elle’s journal, in which she’s written about the rape. Wallace confronts Elle, assuming that Leo raped her. Elle lets her think that.

READERS GUIDE

Captivating debut… full of lush atmospheric details. This will keep the reader guessing all the way to the end.” — Publishers Weekly

I think it was her trip to Memphis and her conversation with Conrad’s sister Rosemary that finally absolved Elle of any guilt and shame she (wrongfully) felt about Conrad’s assault of her and also over Conrad’s death. I think this conversation finally gave her the freedom to consider being with Jonas. Spoilers: Does Elle Choose Peter or Jonas at the end of the Paper Palace? Elle then notices that the hummingbird’s wings make an infinity symbol, and she also says that her wedding ring is an “eternal” shape. She decides to do what no other member of her family has done: keep her wedding vows. Elle Commits Suicide at the End Doubly blessed when it comes to descriptive powers, Heller is as good on nature as she is on interiors.” — The New York Times Team, i (2022-04-21). "Miranda Cowley Heller: 'I write in a big old barn looking over the treetops on Cape Cod' ". inews.co.uk . Retrieved 2023-02-06. The story of Elle’s life is troubling. Her mother, Wallace, is THE WORSE MOTHER EVER in my opinion. But Wallace didn’t have the best upbringing herself. Wallace is self-involved and blunt. Her haughty attitudes are so horrendous and cringe worthy that I snorted in derision while listening. Again, narrator Nan McNamara captures Wallace’s attitudes superbly. I believe McNamara made the story better. I know when I read it, I will have McNamara’s performance voice in my head. Elle’s father is no prize either. He passively neglected his girls.Set in the physical and psychic landscape of Cape Cod, The Paper Palace is a fever dream of a novel, luminous with love and shot through with humor and heartbreak. It is a book that explores the indelibility of childhood, what it means to be shaped by place, and all that is unpredictable about the human heart. I couldn’t put it down.” —Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild Game Elle’s relationships with both men are complex and multi-faceted. Peter is a loving and devoted husband and father, but Elle feels that their relationship has become routine and stagnant. On the other hand, Jonas is the man who has always been there for Elle, and she has a deep connection with him. However, Jonas is not a part of her daily life, and Elle is unsure if he is the right choice for her. Rather than keep sharing on and on about how much I loved this book (yes, aware it might not be for everyone’s taste - but it sure was mine)…. I can’t think of a more brilliant debutthan The Paper Palace. Enticing, assured and multi-layered, it introduces a major new voice in American fiction. . .A marvel.” —Cressida Connolly, auhor of The Happiest Days