The Astonishing Color of After: Chapters 88–108

by Emily X.R. Pan
After her mother's death, Leigh travels to Taiwan, where she tries to piece together her family history while also coming to terms with her grief.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–21, Chapters 22–44, Chapters 45–66, Chapters 67–87, Chapters 88–108
30 words 22 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. default
    an option that is selected automatically
    Mom’s current default was insomnia and migraines, which made her either explosively angry or quiet as a slug.
  2. phenomenal
    exceedingly or unbelievably great
    "The only people who succeed in artistic fields are the ones who are incredibly lucky and phenomenally talented," Dad said another day.
  3. buffer
    protect from impact
    While Dad was unbearable with his arguments about art school, his being home seemed to buffer the storm, quieting my mother.
  4. chiffon
    a sheer fabric of silk or rayon
    In the end, Caro got Cheslin to lend me some of her dresses, and I chose one that was delicate and airy, the aquamarine chiffon draping down to my ankles.
  5. stilted
    artificially formal or stiff
    We leaned against a wall and talked for a long while about silly things in an awkward, stilted way.
  6. congeal
    solidify, thicken, or come together
    No, not blood. What my eyes are seeing is not liquid. It’s not puddling or congealing.
  7. residue
    matter that remains after something has been removed
    But the image of blood is still there in my mind, stuck like gunky residue.
  8. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    The tub still looks grisly.
  9. mahogany
    a shade of brown with a tinge of red
    Every shade of red. Scarlet and merlot and opera rose and Venetian and ruby and mahogany and sangria and blood and currant reds.
  10. unscathed
    not injured
    The only thing that hasn't cracked is my own body. My limbs are whole, unscathed. I’m the last person out here who isn’t about to crumble.
  11. treacherous
    dangerously unstable and unpredictable
    I straighten up; the wood creaks treacherously.
  12. luminous
    softly bright or radiant
    Because in the picture, I’m sitting curled up on his dusty tweed couch, wearing his favorite hoodie, hugging a giant bowl of popcorn, my face open and luminous and full of laughter.
  13. intimate
    marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity
    Something about the way he painted me is so incredibly intimate.
  14. finesse
    subtly skillful handling of a situation
    I made multiple drafts of everything, finessing my strokes, changing the light and dark, altering the focus.
  15. mantra
    a commonly repeated word or phrase
    All I needed for the application were three strong pieces, just a sampling from a hypothetical series. Three pieces. It felt like a new mantra. Just three good pieces.
  16. unrequited
    not returned in kind
    Except Axel and I had only ever been friends with a pathetic side of unrequited feelings.
  17. kerfuffle
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    She’d actually asked him to go to Winter Formal, and there was a whole kerfuffle over that.
  18. fervently
    with strong emotion or zeal
    I nodded less fervently, pretending there was something I understood in that sentence.
  19. timbre
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
    The hurt is plain in her words, straining the timbre of her voice.
  20. omission
    something that has been left out
    So many secrets. So many omissions.
  21. blunder
    an embarrassing mistake
    So I must baffle at the hint
    And cipher at the sign,
    And make much blunder, if at last
    I take the clew divine.
  22. amends
    something done or paid to make up for a wrong
    "I only went after I opened a letter they'd sent to your mother. Your waigong said they wanted to make amends. I thought maybe I could help fix things."
  23. rift
    a personal or social separation
    “I never wanted her to divide up her family. But she felt that without Jingling, there was nothing to close the rift between her and her parents. And I—well. I couldn't bear to make her do anything that might make her miserable."
  24. idiom
    expression whose meaning cannot be inferred from its words
    When she mixed up her idioms, she made me laugh so hard. She never cared about being wrong—she would just laugh along with me.
  25. seamless
    perfectly consistent and coherent
    Even the back of the door has been painted to blend seamlessly into the walls.
  26. inarticulate
    without or deprived of the use of speech or words
    “I’m being super inarticulate right now.”
  27. adamant
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
    He shakes his head adamantly.
  28. expanse
    a wide and open space or area, as of land, sea, or sky
    We level off above the clouds into an unbelievably bright expanse of blue.
  29. epiphany
    a usually sudden insight, perception, or understanding of something
    The gradual introduction of color from one piece to the next is meant to illustrate a developing epiphany.
  30. culminate
    end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage
    All of them culminate in the final piece, Cicadas, which is a surrealistic mosaic piece done in full color:
    A mother, father, and daughter seesawing together on a park playground.
Created on Tue Jan 08 14:15:42 EST 2019 (updated Thu Jan 10 14:36:10 EST 2019)

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