Beneath

A dying woman shares a secret memory with her grandson or granddaughter. A classic opening strategy: the deathbed scene that will (I presume) serve as a portal to grandma’s confession about “that summer” when “part of” her died.

The device is known as a “framing device,” i.e. the grandmother’s deathbed scene will serve as a frame through which we’ll experience all or part of her life (through an extended flashback as told to her granddaughter).

Many good stories have been told this way. Lord By...