Academic analyses, such as those found on DiVA-Portal , argue that alienation is the novel's central undercurrent, especially as Dell becomes an "immigrant" in a world that feels foreign and isolating.
Dell’s seemingly ordinary parents, Bev and Neeva, commit an ill-conceived bank robbery in North Dakota. Canada Richard Ford pdf
After his parents' arrest, Dell is spirited across the border to Saskatchewan, Canada, by a family friend to avoid being placed in the state system. Academic analyses, such as those found on DiVA-Portal