When switching between Willa and Thatcher's storylines, Kingsolver often uses the final phrase of one chapter as the title for the next.
Ex: "Scylla and Charybdis" (71)
"strange companions" (120)
"Gift of the Magi" (251)
How do these tags help us as readers pick up the thread of each narrative once we return to it?
Because each phrase can be read as sign post to the theme of the next storyline, do the tags help us focus on theme or close down the opportunities we have for forming our own opinions of how each storyline is linked?
Can you think of examples where this transition technique worked smoothly and effectively and where you think it might have been too forced?