Letters form an important motif in the text. During World War II, letters and telegrams are the primary ways of communicating with soldiers overseas or folks stationed at military bases. While this is not an epistolary novel, many of its chapters are made up of letters between Fritzi, Billy, and other members of her family. Angie, Wink’s wife, also writes one to him. These letters symbolize everyone’s connection to one another despite great distances. For those concerned about their loved ones during World War II, receiving a letter also offers reassurance that they are still alive. For example, Fritzi asks Wink to write Angie because she “just lives from letter to letter. She’s fighting this war with you, Wink, and is being brave” (171). Letters do not just contain updates; they provide lifelines.

Letters also serve an expository purpose, allowing Flagg to convey direct information through her characters. As they explain what’s been happening in their lives to someone, they are also recounting it for the reader. At times, too, Flagg steps back and shows what’s not being said in a letter, as when “what Fritzi fails to mention to Billy was at one of the last bar stops, she had run into that big redheaded Irishman Joe O’Connor from home” (253).