The Celebrants

Steven Rowley narrates The Celebrants using third-person limited perspective, which provides insight into each character in turn; the perspective switches with each part of the novel—depending on whose funeral is being held—as well as within sections. Beginning with Jordan’s perspective, the novel opens as he imagines himself as an astronaut as a metaphor for the experience of seeing his friends after a long time apart: “[I]t wasn’t space travel that kept him away from these friends, a dangerous mission (as poetic as it might be to imagine), so much as his own busy life and the sad fact that friends—even best friends of thirty years—drift apart” (4). In addition to emphasizing the idea of seeing familiar friends after an extended absence, Jordan’s focus on the space image reflects his desire to separate himself from the reality of his current situation. The first section of the novel concludes with the realization that Jordan is dying of cancer, and he returns to the idea of himself as an astronaut: “Jordan Vargas imagined himself an astronaut reading for another mission, this time with no discernible end; it was easier than telling the best friends he’d ever had that he was dying” (14). Rowley thus characterizes death as an interminable version of the periods of absence the friends have already experienced from one another. The imagery of space travel similarly highlights Jordan’s desire to detach himself by withholding information, because discussing it with them would make it more present and real.

The idea of friends drifting apart introduces the theme of The Closeness of Found Family Despite Periods of Distance. While the action of Part 1 takes place five years since the entire group was last together, the friends quickly slip back into familiarity and inside jokes. They argue over what to order, and when Marielle comments, “No sushi. I’m vegetarian,” her friends reply emphatically: “In unison, they shouted, ‘WE KNOW!’” (7). Rowley represents the friends’ continued closeness through their comedic dialogue as they banter and tease each other; for example, Jordan addresses Craig as “Nana,” which is “a nickname Craig earned in college by wearing nightshirts and falling asleep before nine” (8). Part 1 emphasizes the dichotomy between how well the friends knew each other in the past and how comparatively little they know about the events of their lives in between gatherings. For example, when Marielle discovers Naomi’s engagement, she asks her friend about the jade engagement ring and is told that it’s an inside joke. When Marielle replies that she doesn’t understand, Naomi notes that: “‘That’s because you’re not on the inside.’ She knew her friends. There was no weaseling out of an explanation with such intense focus on her” (9). Rowley demonstrates a paradoxical closeness (in the sense that Naomi can predict her friends’ reactions) but also lack of contact (in that they don’t know about her engagement or details about her fiancé’s sense of humor) among members of the group.

Both the narrative perspective and nonlinear narration highlight the contrast between closeness and distance. The contrast between the action of the parts themselves, each of which centers on one funeral, and the “Jordans” interludes emphasizes the idea that their infrequent get-togethers are pivotal moments in the group members’ lives but are very separate from their usual routines. The significant setting of Naomi’s parents’ house in Big Sur also highlights this contrast. Rowley describes the house as a remote retreat that reflects the aging of the group members and their friendship:

As much as they had all aged, the house in Big Sur seemed revived, its retro style that felt so dated twenty-eight years ago then they assembled here the night Alec was buried was once again in architectural vogue. […] It was all wood paneling and glass to make the most of the breathtaking views, the whole place a paean to the American midcentury and its minimalist aesthetic (7).

Specific descriptions of the house’s aesthetic are included throughout the sections that take place there, which contributes to the idea of the location as a representation of the group’s time together. It is separate, both temporally and spatially, from the ongoing realities of the group members’ lives. That it is both outdated and coming back into style functions as a metaphor for the fact that the group has aged and grown apart, but that they come back together at important moments and therefore remain relevant in each other’s lives.