Spoilers ahead. Ye have been warned.

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I know that most of the character's stories are unresolved by the end of the book, but of those whose are, which do you think is the most tragic?

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My personal choice would be Kate Gompert, followed by Pemulis. Pretty much every time Kate comes up in the story, it seems like things have gotten worse for her, even after entering Ennet House. After attempting to take her own life and getting treated by a doctor who objectifies her, she enters a halfway house where her progress is slow. The last time she's mentioned in the story sees her getting (presumably) Samizdat'd after having her purse stolen from her. It's overall just a dark storyline that I have a hard time drawing any silver lining to.

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Pemulis for more obvious, but less sympathetic, reasons. A mathematics prodigy and a well-ranked tennis player with an Achilles heel for Substances, which he clearly despises about himself after seeing his reaction to Hal's decision to get sober. What little we know about his childhood paints a pretty bleak picture of working-class poverty and familial rape. He's eventually kicked out of E.T.A. and sent to either walk the streets like his escort brother or return to what little home he has left.

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Anyway, which arc do you find the most tragic?

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