Bitter in the Mouth

The dominant theme of the novel, even if it is not explicitly stated until the latter half of the book, is that of difference and convention—or difference as it exists in tension with convention. The specific setting of the novel is key to the development of this theme: Much of the book takes place not just in the South, but in the kind of smaller-town South that makes it difficult to truly disappear. Linda’s world—and to an even greater extent, DeAnne’s and Iris’s worlds—is one dominated by convention and cliché, from patriarchal and religious norms to the cheerleader-and-quarterback tropes of generic high school movies, one in which debate and difference extend to which Protestant church you attend and where you prefer to eat your barbecue. This reliance on conventions and norms is made even more profound by the specific moment in time, as Boiling Springs is presented as hermetically sealed, to an extent, from the outside world in the usual, pre-Internet manner.

However, the novel is fundamentally about wrestling with, understanding, and accepting myriad differences. Despite the pressure to be normal and conventional, difference abounds. Linda’s status as an adoptee and (apparently) the only Asian American in Boiling Springs, along with her synesthesia, are the most prominently displayed and discussed differences, followed by Baby Harper’s sexuality.