Chapter 16: Miri — 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

Chapter 16, told from Miri’s perspective, opens with a couples therapy session arranged through the Centre. The therapy is free, but the Centre is vague about what further assistance might be required. Miri had tried to raise concerns about Leah’s condition on the phone, but was told that prolonged dives can cause various issues and that she should not worry—a phrase the Centre calls the “resurfacing glitch.”

In the session, the therapist uses a “deep listening” approach and shows the couple inkblot cards. Miri gives flippant answers, while Leah reports seeing an eye in every shape. The therapist then asks Miri about her mother, suggesting childhood experiences might be a root of relationship dysfunction. Miri resists this line of questioning. The therapist tells them to ask each other questions, but Miri writes her questions on index cards and hides them, unable to voice them aloud. She argues with the therapist about Leah’s six-month absence when the operation terms stipulated only three weeks.

On a therapy morning, Miri struggles to get Leah dressed. Leah finds fabric painful against her skin and groans at the prospect of shoes and walking. After returning home, Miri discovers that a toenail has come off inside Leah’s walking boot, though Leah seems unaware. Miri, without quite knowing why, spoons table salt into a glass of water for Leah to drink.

Later, Sam arrives unannounced, having been let into the building by neighbors. She has brought a chicken wrapped in tinfoil, awkwardly offering it as help. Miri turns her away, saying Leah is under the weather. Sam mentions that she googled decompression sickness, describing symptoms like dizziness, rashes, fatigue, amnesia, and personality changes, and wonders if it might be relevant. Miri considers dropping the chicken or telling Sam to leave, but says nothing. Sam apologizes and leaves. Later, she texts Miri, apologizing for bringing the chicken and saying she should have brought coffee and asked if Miri wanted to talk.

Alone in the bathroom, Miri scours the edge of the bath and notices a pinkish scrim that comes away with each stroke, thicker than in previous weeks. She wonders if this matter is connected to Leah, who now wears a floor-length toweling dressing gown, making it hard to see her body underneath—whether this is a shedding or a breaking down. Miri imagines asking Leah for an explanation, but also remembers her Leah from before the dive: funny, strange, wearing men’s underwear, chewing hangnails, knowing every actor’s name but never remembering song lyrics. She recalls a trip to the beach near a nuclear power station where Leah used to walk with her father. There, they saw a “sea lung”—an ancient sailors’ term for a slough of ice that forms on the ocean surface when air temperature changes rapidly. The sea lung appeared as a floating platform, solid yet not quite solid, and Miri felt the ground beneath her might be less substantial than she assumed. She remembers the chill of the air and the liminality of the water’s edge.

Key Events

Miri and Leah attend a free couples therapy session arranged through the Centre, where the therapist uses inkblot cards and a “deep listening” approach.
Leah sees eyes in every inkblot; Miri gives dismissive answers and argues with the therapist about Leah’s six-month absence versus the three-week operation term.
Miri writes questions on index cards but hides them, unable to ask Leah directly.
Miri struggles to get Leah dressed for therapy; later, she finds a toenail has come off inside Leah’s boot.
Miri gives Leah a glass of salt water, a remedy she improvises without explanation.
Sam arrives unannounced with a chicken; Miri turns her away, and Sam mentions decompression sickness as a possible cause of Leah’s symptoms.
After Sam leaves, she texts an apology, acknowledging she should have brought coffee instead.
In the bathroom, Miri notices a pinkish scrim growing thicker around the bath’s edge.
Miri recalls a memory of seeing a sea lung—an ice formation—at the beach near a nuclear power station with Leah.

Character Development

Miri’s perspective in this chapter reveals her growing anger, grief, and sense of isolation. She is belligerent in therapy, resistant to the therapist’s attempts to connect her childhood to her current relationship. Her hidden index cards show her desire to ask Leah why she went on the dive and what was so fascinating that she didn’t come back—questions she cannot voice. Miri’s care for Leah is evident in her attempts to get her dressed and her improvised salt water remedy, but she also feels a profound loss: she grieves for the Leah she knew, who was funny, strange, and physically present. The memory of the sea lung underscores her anxiety about solidity and change, as she wonders how tangible anything about her or Leah really is.

Leah’s deterioration is stark. She sees eyes in every inkblot, finds fabric painful, and is unaware of her own toenail falling off. She moves through the flat like a grappling hook, catching on furniture. Her silence and physical changes suggest a shedding or breaking down, though Miri cannot tell which. Leah’s past self is contrasted with her present state, and Miri’s grief is for the person she no longer has.

Sam’s brief appearance shows her concern and her awkward attempt to help. She apologizes for the chicken and later texts a more thoughtful apology, indicating her awareness that she overstepped. Her mention of decompression sickness introduces a possible medical explanation, but Miri does not engage with it, leaving the cause of Leah’s condition ambiguous.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Liminality: The chapter repeatedly emphasizes the edge of the water as a “strange almost-place” where temperature shifts and the air draws taut between two elements. Miri feels weighted and solid on land, but the sea lung makes her question that solidity.
Solidity vs. insubstantiality: The sea lung is described as solid yet not quite solid, something one could conceivably walk on but that would give way. This mirrors Miri’s sense of her own body and her relationship with Leah—both feel increasingly unstable.
Shedding and breaking down: Leah’s lost toenail, the pinkish scrim in the bath, and her dressing gown all suggest a physical or metaphorical shedding. Miri wonders whether this is a shedding or a breaking down, a question that remains unresolved.
Grief for lost self: Miri mourns the Leah she knew, listing her quirks and habits. The memory of the sea lung is tied to a moment when she felt relief that Leah was still with her, contrasting with the present where Leah is present but changed.
Blame and anger: Miri’s anger is a central force. The therapist says she is too given to blame, and Miri’s argument about the six-month absence shows her resentment. This anger isolates her from Leah and from potential help.
Isolation from community: Sam’s visit is the only outside contact, and Miri turns her away. The therapy is free but unhelpful, and the Centre’s dismissive “resurfacing glitch” leaves Miri without answers.
Salt water remedy: Miri’s act of giving Leah salt water is an improvised, almost instinctive gesture, suggesting a desire to restore something or to cleanse, though its purpose is unclear.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the reader’s understanding of Miri’s internal experience and the couple’s isolation. It introduces the sea lung memory, which becomes a powerful symbol of the precarious boundary between solid and insubstantial, and between past and present. The therapy session highlights the failure of conventional help to address Leah’s condition, while Sam’s mention of decompression sickness offers a possible but unconfirmed explanation. The physical details—the toenail, the pinkish scrim—signal Leah’s ongoing deterioration and Miri’s helplessness. The chapter also reinforces the novel’s exploration of grief, not only for a person who has died but for a person who has changed beyond recognition.

Study Questions and Answers

1. What does the sea lung symbolize for Miri in this chapter?

The sea lung represents the unsettling boundary between solidity and insubstantiality. Miri describes it as a floating platform that looks walkable but would give way, and she feels the ground beneath her might be less solid than she assumed. This mirrors her relationship with Leah: Leah is present but changed, and Miri’s sense of stability is eroding. The memory also evokes a moment when Miri felt relief that Leah was still with her, contrasting with the present where Leah is physically present but emotionally and physically altered.

2. How does the therapy session reveal the couple’s communication breakdown?

The therapist’s deep listening approach and inkblot cards fail to draw out meaningful dialogue. Leah’s repeated response of seeing eyes suggests a paranoid or altered perception, while Miri’s flippant answers and argument about the six-month absence show her anger and resistance. Miri writes questions on index cards but hides them, indicating she cannot voice her concerns directly. The session ends without progress, and Miri’s focus on the discrepancy between the three-week operation term and Leah’s six-month absence highlights her unresolved resentment and the lack of explanation from the Centre.

3. What is the significance of the pinkish scrim and the lost toenail?

Both details point to Leah’s physical deterioration and the mysterious changes happening to her body. The toenail coming off inside her boot, unnoticed by Leah, suggests a loss of sensation or awareness. The pinkish scrim growing thicker around the bath’s edge is an environmental change that Miri cannot explain, and she wonders if it is connected to Leah. These details reinforce the theme of shedding or breaking down, and they contribute to the novel’s atmosphere of bodily horror and uncertainty. They also show Miri’s helplessness as she tries to clean and care for Leah without understanding what is happening.