The Matriarch, a powerful and authoritarian figure, leads this ragged group of survivors, along with her brother ("The Uncle") and her children.
The Matriarch enforces strict rules to maintain order and ensure their survival, including strange rituals, incest and violent reprimands.
As Dolores' expressed compassion grows, Pa (the Matriarchs son) and the father of the twins, begins to display more evident resentment and hostility towards the structural rule of his mother.
Throughout the introduction and Dolores' journey, the past of characters is shown through flashbacks, revealing how they came to be under the Matriarch's control and in their respective social roles.
These flashbacks illustrate aspects of the pre-disaster world, indicating the setting to be somewhere in Eastern Europe, possibly the Czech Republic.
The fate of the family is left unknown in the wake of extreme violence from within, but ends on an optimistic note that Dolores' journey has offered them a new path forward.
[4] She had previously published a number of short stories and essays in notable outlets such as Granta, The Baffler, and The New York Times.
[10][11] Publishers Weekly noted that it would be a "love it or hate it" kind of novel, but that Williams' lyrical and visceral prose makes for a captivating read.