Plot Synopsis
Pieces of Her is a novel with two narrative strands, one lasting one week in 2018 and the other spanning slightly over a week in 1986. These threads are separated by a prologue with an unknown narrator and an epilogue set in 2018.
Andy Oliver, a 31-year-old woman living in an apartment above her mother’s garage, is the protagonist of the 2018 story. Her mother, Laura, and she are enjoying breakfast at a little cafe in Belle Isle, Georgia, when a man walks in and shoots two ladies. Andy, who is still in costume as a police dispatcher, gets the attention of the man, who demands that she shoot him. Laura throws herself between the man and Andy, and when he tries to knife her, she defends herself by raising her hand. Laura’s hand is pierced by the knife, which she then uses to stab the man in the throat. When the gunman moves, the knife tears through his throat, killing him.
After Laura is discharged from the hospital, an intruder enters her home and confronts her. Andy kills the man with a frying pan to defend her mother. Laura hands Andy a bag containing cash and a phone, leads her to a storage facility in another town, and urges her to flee. When Andy arrives at the storage facility, she discovers a car, approximately $250,000 in cash, and bogus identity with her mother’s likeness. She also discovers a doctored photograph of herself with her grandparents. As Andy continues her journey, she decides that rather than obeying her mother’s directions and hiding in Idaho, she will pursue clues to discover the mystery of her mother’s background.
Andy travels to Austin, Texas, in search of Paula Kunde, whose name was mentioned during Laura’s fight with the intruder. Paula threatens Andy at first, but then hands her a dollar note, the name Clara Bellamy, and a location in Illinois to continue her inquiry. Andy locates Clara, who informs her that her mother is actually Jane Queller, a great concert pianist. Clara’s husband, Edwin, returns home, but before Andy can ask any questions, Paula appears, murders Edwin, injures Clara, and injures Andy. Paula then tells Andy more about her mother’s past: Laura was a member of a terrorist group with Paula in the 1980s before betraying the group to make a deal with authorities. Paula insists that Laura bring information that will get their leader, Nick, out of prison, using the phone Laura gave Andy as she departed. She is holding Andy prisoner until Laura arrives. Laura and Paula fight when Laura arrives, and Laura kills Paula.
The 1986 plot is intertwined with the 2018 timeline and tells the story of Jane Queller. The story, however, begins with a woman named Laura Juneau. Laura Juneau is impersonating Dr. Alex Maplecroft at a meeting in Oslo. She intends to speak on a panel with Jane Queller’s father, industrialist Martin Queller. Jane, her brother Andrew, and her boyfriend, Nick Harp, are all at the conference and are aware of Laura’s presence but pretend not to. Laura and Jane talk in a bar before the conference starts; the former then goes to the bathroom and removes a bag taped under a toilet that is meant to contain dye packs. Laura, whose family died as a result of Queller’s group home rules, opens her bag to obtain a gun during the panel discussion. She then shoots Martin Queller and herself.
The Queller children, Jasper, Andrew, and Jane, as well as Jane’s boyfriend Nick, are interviewed by the FBI five days later. Jane understands the FBI is aware of their involvement in the shooting, which was a political statement by the Army of the Changing World, of which Jane and Andrew are members. Jane and Andrew head to a safe place where the rest of the group is waiting and where the actual Dr. Alex Maplecroft (who Laura Juneau had been impersonating) is being held. When Maplecroft is about to go, Nick kills her and the FBI arrives. Nick, Jane, Andrew, and Paula flee to a different safe house in Chicago.
Jane learns that her brother Andrew is dying of AIDS while at the safe house. Nick intends to travel to Chicago next, but Jane prefers to remain with Andrew. The former smashes and strangles her till she collapses. Nick has already left when Jane awakens. Jane transports Andrew to the hospital and remains at his side until his death. She then strikes a deal with the authorities in exchange for reduced prison sentence and admittance into the witness protection program in exchange for information about the group’s planned explosion in New York City.
One month after Laura (Jane Queller) murders Paula, she visits Nick in prison in the epilogue (which takes place in 2018). She is collaborating with the US Marshals in an attempt to dupe Nick into confessing that he was responsible for Paula’s attack on Edwin, Clara, and Andy. This is Laura’s first meeting with Nick in 30 years, and Andy’s first meeting with her birth father. Laura is able to extract a confession from Nick, resulting in his transfer to a maximum-security jail with no parole. She has finally broken free from her past.
Analysis of the Prologue & Chapter 3
Despite the fact that the Prologue does not provide any definite information, such as who is speaking or who is being spoken about, it performs a vital role in the broader narrative. This little paragraph establishes the tone for Pieces of Her, building suspense and leaving the reader with several unanswered questions before moving on to the main plot. Nonetheless, the Prologue does not seem to fit within the setting of the first chapters, which center on Andy and Laura’s relationship as well as the diner shooting. The reader will only understand the Prologue after the fact. Some of its ideas, particularly the final statement, will be repeated with a deeper meaning later in the story: “She had always believed—vehemently, with great conviction—that the only way to change the world was to destroy it”. When the reader recognizes the narrator as Laura Oliver/Jane Queller, her belief will be strengthened by her acts in 1986 and her manipulation of ex-boyfriend Nick Harp in 2018.
The protagonist, Andy Oliver, is described as aimless and passive in these first chapters, as is she herself. Andy’s portrayal is corroborated by her talk with her mother Laura in Chapter 1: Laura wants Andy to leave the apartment above her garage because it is time for her to take charge of her life (according to the subject Taking charge: Andy’s Transformation). She wants her to forge her own route and assures her that “it will be the right way, no matter what, because it’s the path you set for yourself”. In other words, Laura is telling Andy to figure out who she is, which ties into the novel’s overall topic of Pieces of Identity.
The reader, like Andy and Laura, is taken aback by the shooter’s abrupt presence and murder of two ladies at the diner. Laura protects Andy, as one would expect from a mother. Andy is taken aback by Laura’s calm, almost tranquil expression as she confronts the shooter and eventually uses his own weapon against him. Following that, Andy and other people believe Laura purposefully killed the gunman by withdrawing the knife from his throat. Laura’s behavior contradicts everything Andy believed she understood about her mother, kicking off the deconstruction of Laura’s identity.
When Detective Lisa Palazzolo interviews Andy, she notes the woman’s repeated references to the gunman, Jonah Helsinger, as a horrible guy. This pattern will appear throughout the work as Karin Slaughter pushes the reader to contemplate the concept of terrible guys from various angles. Laura smokes a cigarette in the hospital, revealing a new part of herself to Andy and making her wonder the older’s identity. Andy is shocked even more when the former demands that she leave that night. Although this appears perplexing at the time, it is later revealed that Laura is aware that people would be seeking for her and wants Andy to be safe. At the end of Chapter 3, while Andy is packing her belongings to go to her stepfather Gordon’s house, he admits that her mother is a mystery to him as well. They reflect on Laura’s enigma, strengthening the reader’s impression of her as a mystery, unknown even to her closest loved ones.
Analysis of Chapters 4-6
These chapters set the tone for the novel’s relentless drive throughout. Laura is given little time to think when Andy kills the intruder at her house, but she remains calm, just as she did in the diner with the shooter. Andy is concerned that Laura has a secret bag in case she needs to go at any time, but she does not have time to worry about it until later. She asks her mother whether she is a spy, publicly questioning Laura’s identity for the first time, and would subsequently regard her to be some type of criminal.
In these chapters, Andy operates on autopilot, blindly following Laura’s directions. In fact, she seemed relieved that she does not have to think or question: “Andy let Laura do the thinking for her.”. She is still functioning inside the status quo, allowing Laura to make decisions and reveling in the fact that she does not have to Take Control of her own life. Nonetheless, she pauses to ponder both of their identities. After slaying the intruder, Andy muses, “Perhaps it was genetic.” Suicides were common in households. Was it the same with murder?”. This concept recognizes Andy’s identity is linked to Laura’s, and if her mother’s identity shifts, so will hers. Regardless, the act of killing is plainly out of character for Andy, who wonders how she was capable of such a thing.
Andy is awkward and makes numerous blunders while on the run. Her background as a police dispatcher, on the other hand, helps her recognize these errors, and she spends much of her driving time determining the best course of action. Andy is already more interested in studying her mother than in her own escape to Idaho at this point in her voyage. Before traveling to the storage room, she researches Paula Kunde, anticipating her later choice to take control of her trip by hunting for Paula. Andy is intrigued by the storage facility and its contents, especially when she uncovers a doctored portrait of herself and believes her identity may be equally as enigmatic as Laura’s. Although she does not consciously acknowledge it, the trip to learn her mother’s identity is also a journey to identify her own.
Analysis of Chapters 7-9
The novel’s second plot thread begins in Chapter 7, with the story of Jane Queller (Laura Oliver), her connection with Nick Harp, and the Army of the Changing World. The novel will now alternate between Andy and Jane’s stories on a regular basis, as Slaughter builds tension and complexity in the 2018 timeline by providing historical context in the 1986 timeline. With the introduction of Laura Juneau at the beginning of Chapter 7, she establishes a tiny relationship. The fact that Juneau shares the same name as Andy’s mother seems too coincidental, and it hints at the connection between the two stories.
This part introduces several major characters, including Jane Queller, Laura Juneau, Nick Harp, and Andrew Queller. There are clearly links connecting them all, but these relationships are unacknowledged—Laura definitely knows Nick and Andrew, as they assist her in gaining entry to the conference, but they claim to be strangers. Similarly, Laura and Jane are acquainted but pretend not to be. The reader is not sure why these conversations are tense.
When Laura pulls the bag from behind the toilet, she is reminded of a moment in the film The Godfather in which Michael Corleone pulls a gun from behind the toilet to murder another man. Slaughter quickly creates tension by establishing this analogy, despite the fact that the suitcase allegedly merely contains dye packs. However, when Laura opens the bag on stage and discovers a gun inside, the reader is less surprised than they may have been without the movie connection.
While this 1986 story unfolds, Andy continues on her trip in 2018—though readers uncover the truth faster than she does. Andy is already in Alabama when we catch up with her. Chapter 8 demonstrates that she has grown wiser and more thoughtful about her escape. Andy has started to Take Control of her situation, evaluating her options and needs. Slaughter, on the other hand, demonstrates that she still has a lot to learn when she becomes connected with Mike, the man with the Alabama hat. Mike being in a hospital in Georgia and then reappearing in the pub across the street from Andy’s motel is too unbelievable to believe—but she suspends her disbelief, partially because he is engaging and likable. This charisma echoes Jane’s perception of Nick’s charisma. Andy is swayed by Mike, but she comes to her senses after they part ways and flees. She still makes blunders, but her abilities are gradually growing.
When we return to the 1986 chronology, five days after the Oslo shooting, the previously ambiguous relationships between the various individuals are revealed. Cracks are appearing in these relationships, particularly between Jane and her boyfriend Nick. Jane feels the FBI is starting to see through their story, which is verified by her conversation with Agent Danbury. Her conversation with Danbury is crucial to another topic, The Cult of Nick. Danbury makes frequent references to cults and cult leaders, drawing connections between them and Nick. He also mentions Patty Hearst, hinting that Jane is an unwilling participant in Nick’s group, or was unwilling at initially.
Analysis of Chapters 10-12
Jane is beginning to reconsider the actions that her boyfriend Nick has forced her to take, realizing that he has been manipulating her. When Jane and Andrew visit the Army of the Changing World’s safe house, the reader discovers that Agent Danbury may be more correct than he understands (from Chapter 9), with the character of Paula Louise Evans (Paula Kunde) exemplifying the group’s cultish qualities. Slaughter emphasizes this analogy by using phrases such as “acolyte” and comparing Paula’s reaction to Nick to “a congregant calling back to the preacher”. The scenario in the safe house is especially powerful because Jane and the reader had both gotten rudimentary information on cults from Danbury. Even if Jane isn’t ready to accept it, the reader recognizes she is a member of the Cult of Nick. Nonetheless, she is horrified enough by the gang that she abandons them to go to Dr. Alex Maplecroft and get her gag removed, which has a catastrophic and immediate effect.
When Nick murders Dr. Maplecroft in Chapter 12, the reader realizes what a dangerous guy he is. Furthermore, his constant training and testing of the group indicate a high level of manipulation that allows him to keep the group. This brainwashing is so deep that, despite her apparent desire to rebel, Jane continues to obey orders.
Jane and Clara Bellamy instantly recognize each other when they meet. Their current identities as cult members clash with their old identities as prominent artists. They may, however, put this weirdness aside. This interaction highlights the conflict between Laura’s (Jane’s) current Identity (2018) and her past (1986). Clara is also the one who tells to Jane what Jane should have known all along: Andrew is dying of AIDS. This example demonstrates people’s occasional incapacity or refusal to perceive the obvious, even from close ones.
When Jane ultimately chooses Andrew over Nick, she breaks cult norms. She has chosen someone else over her Cult of Nick leader, and her punishment is fast, violent, and unforgiving. It is at this point that we learn Nick’s aggression is not restricted to the victims of the organization. Though horrifying, this moment depicts Jane breaking away from Nick, as her love and anguish for her sick brother have taken precedence over her romantic connection.
Andy has also taken charge of her voyage, choosing to seek out Paula Kunde rather than obey her mother’s orders. Paula does not reveal anything about her mother to Andy and is content to let her go until Mike knocks at the door and Andy injures him. Paula suddenly provides Andy a hint. Following this incident, we watch Andy’s change continue. Instead of simply fleeing, she realizes Mike must have installed a tracker on her vehicle. Instead of getting rid of the tracker, she takes Mike’s truck. Andy’s decision adds much-needed levity in the face of continuous action.
Analysis of Chapter 13’s Epilogue
Jane (Laura) ultimately breaks free from the Cult of Nick in Chapter 14. When Jane wakes up, she discovers Nick is no longer there, but her sole focus is to get Andrew to the hospital. It’s too late to help him, but she refuses to let him die alone, as she’s seen other AIDS patients do. Slaughter goes to great lengths to depict the dread and prejudice that surrounded AIDS in the 1980s, when the epidemic was still in its infancy. While taking Andrew to the hospital, Jane feels a sense of liberation: “for the first time in nearly two years, Jane felt at peace.” A strange quiet has taken over. This was the correct decision. She was suddenly lucid after succumbing to Nick’s lunacy for so long”. She also discovers that Andrew had concealed Nick’s identity (as Clayton Morrow) from her, and that Jasper had a hidden relationship with Nick as well. Jane discovers she did not know either of her brothers as well as she believed she did, and the topic of identity resurfaces.
Andy finally learns the truth about her mother’s true identity, as well as her own. She has an uncanny familiarity with Clara and Edwin, which makes logical given that Paula lived with them for the first two years of her existence. Later, the reader learns that Laura was imprisoned for two years as part of a deal she made to preserve her future freedom and participation in the witness protection program. One of the novel’s most intriguing scenes is Paula telling Andy about Jasper’s corruption, and Andy seeming unimpressed by his crimes. Slaughter compares the two time periods (1986 and 2018), and we see that what was once a terrible crime in the 1980s has become one that can be patched over with a public apology. Laura knows this later, as she has been hiding from Jasper for years, but he has no incentive to pursue her now that the statute of limitations for his crimes has gone, and they will have no effect on public view of him.
The Epilogue eventually connects the two timelines. Laura is scared and concerned when she visits Nick in prison, despite the fact that she hasn’t seen him in 30 years. Some of Laura’s anxiety can also be related to her masterminding the situation in order to elicit a confession from Nick, and she is concerned about her ability to pull it off. One final surprise awaits the reader: it was Laura who brought the rifle into Oslo and, as she puts it, “ignited that first spark”. In the Epilogue, Slaughter uses much of the language from the Prologue, indicating Laura to be the narrator in the former. When Laura says in the Epilogue, “had always believed, vehemently, with great conviction—that the only way to change the world was to destroy it,” she is referring to her previous life as Jane Queller. Now that we know the background of Nick and Laura’s relationship, this perspective takes on new importance. In this scenario, Laura’s desire to destroy the world entails confronting and forever saying goodbye to Nick. Andy, on the other hand, has no emotional attachment to Nick, her biological father, or Jasper, her maternal uncle, reaffirming her and Laura’s only road ahead and away from the past.
Discussion Questions
1. How important is the concept of identity in “Pieces of Her,” both for the protagonist Andy and her mother Laura?
2. How does the character of Laura use “camouflage” as described in the novel, and how does it contribute to the plot’s development?
3. Discuss the relevance of Andy’s discovery of her true past, as well as its impact on her understanding of identity.
4. How does the comparison of Nick Harp to prominent cult leaders help to illustrate the cult in “The Cult Of Nick,” and what features make cult leaders appealing to followers?
5. Investigate FBI Agent Danbury’s comparisons of the Army of the Changing World and cults. How does this help us better understand the characters and their motivations?
6. In what ways does Nick Harp resemble a cult leader, and how does his capacity to control others play an important role in the story?
7. Discuss Jane’s (Laura’s) character development throughout the narrative, notably her ambivalence about Nick and the Army of the Changing World.
8. How does Paula’s character reflect blind devotion, and what function does her steadfast commitment play in the investigation of cult dynamics?
9. Throughout the novel, consider how Andy’s knowledge of her true origins affects her image of herself and her family history.
10. Examine the family theme and how Andy’s attempt to learn her mother’s past intersects with her own desire for identity in “Pieces of Her.”
Reflection Essays
1. Discuss Andy’s growth throughout Pieces of Her. What does she look like at the start of the novel, and how does she change? What conditions have compelled her to do so?
2. How does Karin Slaughter use the dual narrative structure to create suspense by switching between narratives in 2018 and 1986? In what ways does Jane’s (Laura’s) tale inform and deepen Andy’s?
3. What draws Jane to Nick Harp, and how does her personal background influence their relationship? Why is it so difficult for her to break free from him?
4. Andy feels different from her mother in terms of appearance and behavior throughout the narrative. Is she as distinct from her mother as she believes? What are some of their similarities?
5. Discuss Slaughter’s usage of references to American pop culture, ranging from The Doors to Charles Manson. How do these citations add to the text?
6. Laura Oliver/Jane Queller has a strong connection to music. How does this relationship evolve over time? How does Laura reconnect to music at the end of the story, and how does this relationship represent her newly revealed identity as Jane Queller?
7. Show the reader the gradual unveiling of Jane Queller’s true identity. Why did Slaughter structure the story in this manner?
8. Examine Nick Harp’s personality. What is it about him that attracts people and makes him such an effective leader?
9. Discuss Slaughter’s investigation into the notions of “bad guys” and “good guys.” How does she demonstrate the complexities of this concept, and what are the text’s conclusions?
10. Laura Juneau tells Jane (Laura Oliver), “Once a mother, you’re always a mother”. What exactly does she intend by this?