The Stars Beneath Our Feet

Harmonee is Lolly’s enormous Lego city. The name “Harmonee” is appropriate because Lolly only feels at peace while building his Lego city; the rest of his life causes him confusion and pain. Before Lolly started Harmonee, he put together Lego kits to look exactly like the models on the box. His exact replicas reflect where Lolly is emotionally following Jermaine’s death. Just as Lolly bottles up his grief, his Lego models are externalized replicas that don’t require thinking.

Though Lolly clearly possesses architectural skill and precision, he has a lot of untapped creative potential. Steve pushes him to explore this talent: “Not many of us have rich imaginations, but you do. It’s hard for most people to come up with any original ideas” (14). The sudden decision to tear apart his Lego models and build something new symbolizes the beginning of Lolly facing his grief. When he is building Harmonee, he can almost feel Jermaine with him, a sign that building the castle is helping him deal with his grief. For the first time, Lolly has an outlet for all of the emotions he has been feeling. He pours everything he feels into Harmonee, so essentially Harmonee is a little piece of himself.

When Rose also begins building with Lego, Lolly sees her as an invader. Sharing Harmonee is like sharing a part of himself, which he isn’t ready to do yet. As his relationship with Rose progresses and blossoms into something new, so too does Harmonee. By the end of the novel, Rose and Lolly build a bridge connecting her city and Harmonee, symbolizing Lolly being vulnerable about his loss and his desire to connect to others with hope for the future.