Alex Nilsen and Betty

Alex Nilsen and Betty are grandson and grandmother, joined by an affection that the novel conveys both through Poppy Wright’s vivid recollections of Betty and through the house Alex takes on after her death. Betty is one of Alex’s favorite family members; after she dies, her home becomes a lasting, practical connection to her memory and to the life he is building in Linfield.

Family Bond and Poppy’s Memories

Poppy met Betty only a few times, but remembers loving her. Her portrait is specific and lively: Betty was tiny and fierce, devoted to murder mysteries and crocheting, and fond of spicy food and modern art. These details make her more than a name in Alex’s family history. She emerges as a person with strong tastes and a story she enjoyed telling.

That story concerned Betty’s marriage. She fell in love with her priest, who left the priesthood to marry her; as Betty cheerfully recounted it, the marriage made them Protestants. Eight months later, Alex’s mother was born, with thick dark hair like Betty’s and a strong nose like Alex’s grandfather’s. The anecdote links Betty to the next generation and shows the playful manner in which Poppy remembers her.

Betty’s Death and Alex’s Grief

During the trip with Poppy, Alex explains that his grandmother has died. The news carries particular weight because Poppy did not know: she realizes that Alex had not told her, and that the many events she missed during their two years apart hurt her. Betty’s death thus arrives not only as a family loss but also as news from a period of Alex’s life from which Poppy had been absent.

Alex describes Betty’s death as peaceful and notes that she was very old. As he speaks, he folds their straw wrappers with precision into small squares. He shows little outward emotion, but Poppy understands that Betty was probably his favorite family member, perhaps tied with David Nilsen. The contrast between his composed gesture and the importance she held in his life makes the grief present without turning it into a display.

Poppy struggles to keep her own voice steady and says she wishes Alex had told her about Betty and Flannery O’Connor. Alex looks at her and explains that he was not sure she wanted to hear from him. The exchange reveals how their estrangement has affected the sharing of intimate news: Poppy’s sorrow is for Betty, but also for having missed the chance to know what was happening in Alex’s family. Her response confirms the affection she had felt for Betty, despite their few meetings.

The House as a Continuing Connection

After Betty’s death, her house passes to Alex’s father, who considers selling it. The property needs work, however, and Alex’s father lacks the time or money to undertake it. Alex moves in and begins fixing it up. His presence in the house makes his bond with Betty part of his everyday life: the family home is not simply an inheritance to dispose of, but a place he is actively maintaining.

The house bears the marks of its occupants and its age. It is a funky, early-1960s quad-level with original orange-and-yellow floral wallpaper in the living room. After Betty slipped and broke her hip, ugly brown carpet was laid over the hardwood and tile, even in the bathroom. These details preserve the history of the house as a lived-in place, including the practical changes made after Betty’s injury; Alex’s repairs take place within, rather than erase, that accumulated history.

Legacy and Future Plans

Later, Alex and Poppy imagine returning to Linfield after a summer in Norway and Sweden and staying in Betty’s house while Alex continues restoring it. Their plans include tearing down the old wallpaper and choosing new paint colors, making renovation a shared activity and giving the house a future beyond its inherited condition. The scene connects Alex’s ongoing work to a life Poppy now expects to share with him.

The house therefore carries two related meanings. It is the place Alex occupies and repairs after Betty’s death, and it is the setting for a future the couple imagines together, among family in Linfield. That future does not replace Betty in the story of the home; its familiar walls and planned changes keep her presence attached to the place. Through Betty’s remembered character, Alex’s restrained grief, and the work of restoring her house, their relationship remains consequential after her death.