Emma
At the start of the novel, readers learn that Emma brutally tortured and killed her child, despite the fact that her child was young, innocent, and incapable of doing something wrong. Readers don't expect this murder to happen (after all, parents are supposed to protect, not kill, their kids).
Apollo's paranoia
At the start of the novel, Apollo questions his wife's parental paranoia. However, ironically, Apollo himself becomes a paranoid parent.
Abandonment
Apollo grows up resenting his father for abandoning him. Nevertheless, Apollo abandons his child for a while, mirroring his own father's betrayal.
Apollo
Apollo, the novel's main character and protagonist, shares the same name as a god. Unlike the god he shares a name with, however, Apollo is human and vulnerable. He often feels powerless against seemingly insurmountable forces.
