Not unlike scrambled eggs, Woodson plays with notions of time, gender roles, sexuality, and old folks tales. What's particularly strong is the sense of tradition, of how the twin towers burning is like the Tulsa fires, of the way stories repeat themselves, of lovers who are friends and friends who are lovers, of the myriad complexities of womanhood. Take Iris for example. She is a woman who leaves her child, unable to feel maternal love, forever seeking in others the acceptance she can't feel for herself. Woodson mines the depths of human ethos to create a tapestry as familial as it is intricate.