The Most Fun We Ever Had

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4, Chapter 21-Interlude 20

Part 4, Chapter 27-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Sorenson Houses

Content Warning: This section of the guide briefly references stillbirth and substance misuse, which the novel explores.

Throughout the novel, the Sorenson family’s houses reflect their financial security, wealth, and social status—or lack thereof. On a deeper level, houses symbolize The Irrevocable Bonds of Family and The Role of Parental Love in Family Dynamics. The most prominent house in the novel is the Oak Park mansion that Marilyn inherits from her father. Marilyn and David go on to raise their four daughters there, and it continues to be a gathering place even after the girls grow up and move into houses of their own. While Marilyn and David are imperfect parents, they provide their daughters with a loving, stable home, and the family house is a comforting presence for all characters in times of need or precarity.

Two of the characters who most benefit from the security of home are Grace and Jonah, who are also the most deficient in terms of housing. Jonah has never had a house of his own—ever since his adoptive parents died, he has been passed around to different homes. When he moves in with Marilyn and David, he finally finds the love and security he has always wanted, and for him, the house symbolizes a newfound sense of belonging. Similarly, Grace’s suffering is reflected in her subpar housing situation. She has no security, no prospects, and is far from home. For her, the family house in Oak Park represents a refuge where she can be loved and accepted for who she is, and where she can heal.

While houses provide financial and emotional security for the Sorenson family, Wendy’s house demonstrates that even the greatest of wealth cannot entirely protect a person from tragedy and trauma. Despite being very wealthy—far more so than her sisters or her parents—she loses her baby and her husband, and her house becomes a place of solitude and grief. Wendy’s house symbolizes that financial wealth is an insufficient form of security, and that true security comes from being surrounded by a loving family.

The Gingko Tree

The gingko tree on the family’s property represents numerous aspects of family and sexual union. The first time Marilyn and David have sex is beneath a gingko tree on Marilyn’s father’s property, which later becomes their own. As such, this tree is closely tied to their relationship. It also represents their future family. Trees have deep, hidden roots, as do families, and the gingko tree, which grows as the family grows, reflects the interconnectedness between generations. David is particularly fond of the gingko tree, and when he retires, he finds a sense of purpose in caring for it. It has become sick with honey fungus, and if the disease spreads to the tree’s roots, it will die. David’s efforts to save the tree symbolize his desire to keep his family healthy and stop tragedies from hurting those he loves.

Ultimately David’s efforts cannot save the tree, which succumbs to illness, but even after it dies he continues to tend to it, pruning it before it is uprooted. As he is doing this, he has a heart attack, demonstrating that his fatherly love is not capable of keeping tragedy and loss at bay forever. However, his family weathers the death of the tree just as they weather his heart attack and subsequent illness; in this way the gingko also represents The Irrevocable Bonds of Family, which gives the characters strength in times of upheaval.

Video Games

Video games in the novel represent familial bonds, with Jonah and Ryan bonding over their shared love of video games. Jonah is still finding his footing in the Sorenson family when he meets Ryan, and playing video games with the older man gives him an easy way to relate to his new relative. However, gaming also provides the opportunity for Jonah to tell Ryan about Liza’s infidelities, a disclosure that severs familial bonds and ends Ryan and Liza’s relationship.

While playing video games is a common pastime for teenagers like Jonah, Ryan’s decision to spend his days playing video games is indicative of his depression and stagnation. Liza is frustrated that Ryan won’t be proactive in changing his circumstances and feels that he is regressing emotionally. Her suffering in their relationship leads her to start an affair with a colleague. In this way, video games also foreshadow the end of their relationship.