Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses sexual assault, graphic violence, murder, and miscarriage.

“The news puts this on because it’s what people want to see. It’s a sickness. It’s not that the world is innately bad or that bad things happen more often than good things. It’s that we’re drawn to bad things. Death sells. I turn the news off. I hate watching it.”

Nina’s opinions about the news reveal how she likes to observe good qualities in others, especially Jake. Nina makes allowances and justifications for Jake’s cold, emotionally detached behavior while focusing on their happier memories. Hearing about crimes on the news foreshadows Jake’s disappearance and murder, events that will later receive local media coverage.

“There is a detachment in the way he speaks of his patients because there has to be. He can’t get all emotional about it, otherwise he wouldn’t be a good surgeon. There is a whole psychology about how doctors like him get through the day.”

Nina's justifications for Jake’s emotional detachment explore Appearance Versus Reality in Marriage, one of the novel’s central themes. Nina only sees what she wants from her husband. Only when Jake disappears and Nina learns more about his life outside of their home can she learn the reality of her husband’s life.

“Two days down, just three days until the weekend and then for forty-eight hours, you don’t have to get out of bed. I’m at your beck and call. Anything you need—back rub, foot rub, breakfast in bed—I’m your guy.”

Christian devotes most of his free time and energy to meeting Lily’s needs. He nurtures Lily, sensitive to her pregnancy symptoms. Unlike Jake, who always puts his comforts and desires above Nina’s, Christian views his marriage as a supportive partnership. Here, Kubica presents him as Jake’s foil.