Robine asked Gabrielle Zevin:

"The NPC" is one of my favorite chapters, not just because it's such an emotional and complete chapter, but because it keeps me coming back to decipher every sentence to see if I missed any message or new meaning to take away from it. But I have to know, how did you come up with the metaphor of Marx flying through the field? What does him being a bird at the beginning and end of the chapter signify exactly?

Gabrielle Zevin Thanks for this question, which is exactly the kind of thing I like to be asked! The bird motif began with the decision to make Marx’s mother a textile designer/professor. You’ll remember that she said her favorite print was William Morris’ Strawberry Thief. Once I knew that, I went down a rabbit hole of researching William Morris and Strawberry Thief, which, of course, features a thrush stealing a strawberry from a field. At that point, I decided to incorporate the Strawberry Thief pattern into the story of how Marx came up with Mapleworld. The second appearance of the Strawberry Thief bird is in Marx’s dream, which he describes to Sadie.

I wrote the book in largely chronological order. When I arrived at The NPC section, it seemed natural to turn Strawberry Thief into the “game” that is the beginning of The NPC. The opening description of the land Marx is flying over is roughly based on William Morris’ house in Oxfordshire and what Oxfordshire might have looked like in the 19th century. So, in a sense, the bird motif emerges from a repetition of the Strawberry Thief pattern.

To an extent, I resist telling readers what anything means. That said, a thing to consider is that the Japanese word for strawberry is Ichigo. The thing that “traps” Marx into his life as a game producer is Ichigo. And the thing that traps bird Marx is the lure of the strawberry as well. So, to answer your question, I think the first time bird Marx descends represents Marx's decision to make Ichigo with Sam and Sadie. At the end of the chapter, when Marx flies on, he is leaving them (and the strawberry field, which represents Ichigo and all the other games) behind. It can be interpreted as both Marx moving on and Marx choosing a different path than he did the first time around.

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