Starling House

Opal is a 26-year-old woman living in the small town of Eden, Kentucky. She is both the protagonist and a narrator of Starling House. Although she has lived in Eden most of her life, she does not consider it to be her home. In fact, she does not consider any one place to be her true home, for she was conceived and born in the back of her mother’s car and has always felt like she must be ready to move from one place to another. Her sole motivation in life is ensuring that her brother, Jasper, has everything he needs. At the time of the novel, she is trying to be as little like her mother (Jewell) as possible, for Jewell was a woman who always depended on help from others. Opal, on the other hand, never asks anyone else for help, remarking, “I work for what I can and steal the rest; I don’t owe anybody shit” (107). Because of this intensely independent mindset, Opal closes herself off from most people around her and attempts to maintain as much control as possible over her life. She believes that the town of Eden has turned against her family, yet she fails to see the support system that she has in people like Bev and Charlotte, who provide and care for her and Jasper without her knowledge.