“Truth doesn't run on time like a commuter train, though time may run on truth. And the Scenes Gone By and The Scenes to Come flow blending together in the sea-green deep while Now spreads in circles on the surface.”

As Viv and Draeger talk about what makes the Stampers the way they are, the narrator interjects that their story cannot be understood as a linear sequence of events, or a “commuter train” representing urban life. Instead, the past and present flow together like water. This points to both the primary setting of the novel, the Oregon wilderness along the Wakonda, as well as to the way the novel presents past and present events simultaneously, and emphasizes how the past influences the present.

“Watching, it occurs to Jonas that it isn’t the bank that is giving way, as one might naturally assume. No. It is the river that is getting wider.”

As loggers wrestle timber from forests and townsfolk try to survive the river’s floods, nature is a force that people struggle against. Generations earlier, Henry’s father Jonas noted the encroachment of the river onto land. Over time, the Stamper house, located along the riverbank, becomes more and more precariously positioned.

“NEVER GIVE A INCH!”

Hank paints this motto onto a sign and hangs it prominently in the Stamper house. It represents the family’s determination, obstinacy, and refusal to bow to the wishes of anyone else. Most prominently, the motto signifies the Stampers’ refusal to work with the striking logging union.