The Dead Romantics

Crows symbolize Florence’s ability to see and interact with the spirit world, and their appearance signals that a ghost is nearby. A group of crows is called a murder, vocabulary that reflects the novel’s attitude toward death, a blend of the morbid and the satirical. The crows like to perch on the dead oak tree outside the Days Gone Funeral Parlor; they follow her around Mairmont in Ben’s wake, a grim entourage.

The crows are a sign of life amid the presence of the dead, akin to how Florence is able to see both ghosts and the living. The crows’ role in the novel is reminiscent of their function in ancient mythology as messengers, premonitions, or guardians of the underworld. Florence’s dad asks for a murder of crows at his funeral, perhaps because he had the same familiarity with them, and while the family has no luck catching the crows, they come to the cemetery in Ben’s wake. They make Ben part of the family and give him a part in fulfilling Florence’s promise to meet her father’s last requests.