Abby’s Reviews > Sunburn > Status Update

“…she stand on the backs of my shoes in school Mass. And then, when I turn around to say something about it, all the sunlight of March comes in through the stained-glass windows and dyes her strange colours.”

What a fantastic image, and a metaphor for how looking at Susannah is like staring at the sun, a phrase already used in previous passages.

[it is lucky I am uninterested in sex with boys, for I have no fear of pregnancy, shame of a secret affair or regret of sex]. “My fear, shame, and regret are elsewhere; I know them all combined in one sickness when I stare at Susannah, deep and long, and without permission.”

Despite being set from 1989 onwards, parts of the culture outlined in this book feel much older.
The farmer men coupled with housewives and many children; the girls being raised for marriage and careers limited to e.g. teaching, nursing, while men have a much wider scope; the suggestion that girls need chaperones etc.
I suppose life in isolated villages hangs behind that of metropolitan cities as I am used to.

“It seems the boys have to do less to be considered impressive”

“To avoid being found out, I’ve started to casually mention boys’ names and make up things about them that I like… I will like somebody soon, when I find the right person. A sensitive boy, with long hair and nice bone structure and a soft voice, I’m sure. Until then, I can just keep playing the game.”

Those are rather feminine features you’re looking for huh

“it is no longer enough to blush at the mention of boys; now we must make assumptions about their lips, their teeth, and their tongues. It all seems very graphic and unnecessary for girls our age. Those rude, unwashed boys, why would I want to imagine such intimate pieces of them?”, after previously poring over such features in Susannah. Just to drive this point home, the next line is Lucy talking to Susannah.

“Really, I don’t even need to be happy, I just need to be the same as everybody else.”