Native Speaker: List 1

This example sentence is the epigraph ("a quotation at the beginning of some piece of writing"): it lays out the major theme about the difficulties of figuring out one's individual identity because it is entangled with the past and the identities of others. This sounds like a theme for a memoir, and although the novel is written in the first-person, readers need to extricate the identity of the author from that of his fictionalized main character.

"Surreptitious" also means "marked by quiet and caution and secrecy"--this is a fitting description of Henry Park, which could be a result of how his Korean immigrant parents raised him in America. But by the time he met Lelia, he was already working for a company that required him to have hidden aims and methods. Both his background and his job contribute to his surreptitiousness.

A sentimentalist is one who "indulges in excessive sentimentality"--the excess would make the emotions seem insincere. "Sentimental" also means "marked by tender, romantic, or nostalgic emotion" and this could apply as a direct contrast to the next description on the list, similar to how "great in bed" is followed by "overrated."

"Venerable" also means "impressive by reason of age"--in the Confucian ordering, age is venerable because it comes with experience and wisdom. But a father is also venerated because of the roles he has in creating, providing for, and protecting the family. Henry recognizes this, but he has trouble venerating his own father, and this is reflected in the phrases "slave-son" and "long-dead god" which sandwich "venerable father" and give it a mocking tone.

"Mundane" means "found in the ordinary course of events"--a historian who's focused on the mundane would be prodigal, because historians are supposed to make sense of important events/people, in order to shed light on patterns of humanity. But Henry is not a true historian, since his job is to focus on one individual's daily life, and his reports serve to undermine rather than unite.

Notice the three Rs for Henry: retreat, reiterate, and revise. These are significant because he is a non-native speaker whose first language of Korean does not have separate sounds for L and R. Although Henry is describing what he normally does when one of his undercover operations is falling apart, it is also a fitting description of how he has behaved and developed throughout his life.

"Glimmer" also means "a slight suggestion or vague understanding"--both definitions fit, since the name of Henry's company is meant to deceive. If pushed, Henry would give a description of his job that only gives a glimmer of truth. In truth, the light they provide envelops individual people, and they do not consult their clients on how to proceed with the information, in order to pretend they're not responsible for what happens.

"Jaundiced" also means "affected by yellowing of the skin"--this word choice emphasizes the characters' Korean heritage, despite Henry's distaste of how the language was used in his father's inveterate ("habitual") way of trying to belittle him.

"Abject" also means "most unfortunate or miserable" and "showing utter resignation or hopelessness" and "showing humiliation or submissiveness"--all the definitions fit, depending on whether the perspective is from the younger Henry (who had no control over his father's life or the shame he felt) or the older Henry reflecting on his younger self (who is ashamed at having felt ashamed of his father).