The Grandest Game

The Grandest Game features a motif related to problematic fathers and father figures. Lyra’s father’s death by suicide is the plot’s central mystery, and it has greatly impacted her life: She loses sleep over the memory, dreams about it, has become distanced from her mother because of it, has given up dancing in favor of running to distract herself from it, and has flashbacks that manifest like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at various points in the story. Gigi and Savannah likewise struggle to come to terms with their father’s death: Their father, whom law enforcement officials were investigating for financial crimes, died while trying to kill Avery Grambs. Now, Gigi and Savannah are both keeping their knowledge of his death a secret from one another and growing estranged; Gigi tries to devote herself to making up for the evil her father did, while Savannah becomes obsessed with revenge against Avery. When Odette was a teen, her father essentially sold her into marriage because his personal ambitions mattered more to him than her happiness.

For other characters, men who aren’t their fathers but function as father figures to them have detrimental effects on their lives. The men who essentially raised