French Braid

Readers learn by Chapter 7 that Serena’s relationship with James from Chapter 1 did not pan out. What lessons about James, his family, her family, and her expectations did she learn from her encounter with her cousin Nicholas at the train station and her conversation afterward with James?

Why does Mercy, who otherwise demonstrates an intuitive understanding of the motives and intentions of family members as well as strangers, seem so oblivious to 21-year-old Trent in his pursuit of her infatuated 15-year-old daughter Lily?

As the narrative progresses, Mercy looks back on the weeklong vacation to Deep Creek Lake as a positive, revelatory experience. For David, it is such a painful memory that he tells his son Nicholas he does not even recall it. Why was the same vacation such a cathartically positive event for one person and so disastrous for another? How would Lily or Alice remember the week?