Chapter 2: The First Influencer – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter follows two prehistoric women, Grooga and Crooga, as they observe Oola, a trendsetting cavewoman who has become the tribe’s first influencer. Oola markets flat-belly tea, poses for cave-painting advertisements, and wears a fox femur as a hair accessory. Grooga grows jealous and critical, while Crooga is intrigued and begins to admire Oola. Their friendship fractures after an argument about Oola’s appeal and Grooga’s resentment. Crooga eventually befriends Oola, participating in a “gratitude bowl” lunch and letting Oola style her hair. When a saber-toothed tiger attacks, both Oola and Crooga are killed. Days later, a woman from another tribe discovers their remains and uses the blood and dirt as a rudimentary blush, sparking a new beauty trend.

Key Events

Grooga and Crooga notice Oola’s clean appearance and flat stomach while washing loincloths.
Oola offers flat-belly tea, which Grooga dismisses; Crooga later tries it for a week.
A cave painting advertising flat-belly tea appears, showing Oola as a model.
Grooga and Crooga argue about Oola’s hair bone and Grooga’s negativity.
Grooga admits her jealousy stems from Oola’s popular boyfriend Kron.
Crooga and Oola become friends; Oola styles Crooga’s hair and coins the term “gratitude bowl.”
A saber-toothed tiger kills both Oola and Crooga.
An unnamed woman finds their remains and uses blood-mixed dirt as blush, creating a new cosmetic.

Character Development

Grooga: Starts as a supportive friend but becomes openly jealous and hostile. Her insecurity leads to a strained relationship with Crooga. By the end, she is left alone, having driven Crooga away.
Crooga: Curious and impressionable, she seeks validation from Oola. She tries the tea and adopts Oola’s style, but her desire to fit in ultimately leads to her death alongside her new idol.
Oola: The archetypal influencer: confident, innovative, and manipulative. She markets products and cultivates an image, but her lifestyle proves fatal when she cannot escape a predator.
Unnamed woman: Represents the next wave of influence—she observes, imitates, and commercializes the tragedy, turning blood into a beauty product.

Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

Influencer culture: The chapter satirizes modern social-media influencers by placing them in a prehistoric setting. Oola’s advertising, hashtag (#ad), and fee-for-endorsement model mirror contemporary trends.
Jealousy and self-image: Grooga’s envy and Crooga’s insecurity reveal how comparison can poison friendships. The characters’ fixation on appearance (clean ass hair, flat belly, hair bone) echoes modern body-image issues.
Commodification of life: Oola treats every action as a business opportunity, from drinking tea to styling hair. The final scene shows how even death can be repackaged as a trend.
Symbol of the hair bone: Represents status and coolness. It literally falls out when danger strikes, underscoring the fragility of superficial trendiness.
Flat‑belly tea: A symbol of false promises and quick fixes; it doesn’t work for Grooga, yet Crooga believes it does because of a “flattering creek.”

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 2 establishes the novel’s satirical framework: modern consumer culture projected onto a primordial society. It introduces the influencer archetype and critiques the emptiness of trend‑following, the toxicity of comparison, and the ephemeral nature of fame. The abrupt, violent end of Oola and Crooga subverts the typical success story of an influencer, suggesting that obsession with image can lead to real destruction. The final image—a stranger turning death into beauty—shows how tragedy is quickly co‑opted and monetized, a stark commentary on how society consumes and repackages violence.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the author use the setting to critique modern influencer culture?
The prehistoric setting strips away digital technology, isolating the core behaviors of influencer culture: product endorsement, image curation, and follower envy. By having Oola’s ads painted on cave walls and her currency be flint, Spyra highlights the timelessness of these social dynamics, suggesting that the desire for status and trendsetting predates social media.

2. What role does the alternating friendship between Grooga and Crooga play in the chapter?
The friendship serves as a lens through which we see the corrosive effects of envy and insecurity. Grooga’s jealousy drives Crooga toward Oola, while Crooga’s admiration alienates Grooga. Their conflict illustrates how external validation can dismantle personal relationships, culminating in a permanent rift and tragic consequences.

3. Why does the chapter end with an unnamed woman using the blood as blush?
This ending reinforces the chapter’s themes of commodification and imitation. The woman’s action suggests that influence is a cycle: each new trend builds on what came before, even if it stems from violence. It also mirrors how real‑world beauty trends often originate from macabre or exploitative sources, a darkly humorous punchline.