Outside Reading, Week 1, Post A

Vocab
arabesque (21): A complex, ornate design of intertwined floral, foliate, and geometric figures.

maelstrom (15): a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs.

Figurative Language
"He never fully recovered from the operation. Both sensed that he wouldn't survive that first Christmas. Blair, meanwhile, crackled like gunfire out of Bunny's dominion. He found himself in a world churning with opportunity [...] self-empowerment." (14)

In this passage, DBC Pierre uses a simile to compare the way Blair crackled out of Bunny's dominion to the way gunfire crackles. I believe his choice to use "crackled" and "gunfire" was part of a deliberate attempt to convey how powerful and wild Blair was when he was finally separated from Bunny.

"The mountains threw a shadow beside her, an early consulate of the night." (19)

In this excerpt, Pierre uses a personification to help the reader fully envision the setting by giving the mountains the human ability to throw. Ludmila is preparing to meet with her boyfriend and escape, but right now, she is alone and slightly nervous. It seems like Pierre gave the mountains this quality so it would seem like Ludmila is really not alone.

"An icy gust ran its fingers through her hair, flicked it high around her face, to seem like ravens abducting a cherub. Behind her the sky was a pool getting deeper, though not deep enough to contain her excitement and resolve." (20)

Pierre uses a metaphor to compare the sky to a pool getting deeper, without using like or as. Pierre most likely chose a pool for a comparison so that the reader can get a feel for the setting and visualize the sky as completely blank and dark.

Quote
"Ludmila shook herself into the present, and hurried through the snow to fetch home her grandfather. She wasn't to know things were about to change." (21)

I felt that this quote will be significant coming up because it foreshadows some upcoming change. Ludmila believes that she has the situation under control, but according to this quote, there will be unforeseen consequences to her decisions.

Theme
Right now, I'd have to say that the major theme is probably deciding a fate for yourself and taking action, no matter the cost. Ludmila is leaving everything behind so that she can escape from all the war and hardship that she and her family are experiencing right now. However, she has to give up her family and brave it on her own.