Marya: A Life is undoubtedly Marya Knauer's narrative, and Oates masterfully portrays the icy shield children of alcoholics or victims of child abuse often erect. The novel's design artfully highlights the influential figures who have sculpted Marya's journey: Lee, the domineering cousin who subjects her to cruelty; Mr. Schwilk, the beleaguered junior high teacher driven from his post by unruly students; Father Shearing, the priest who guides Marya in her quest for faith; Emmett, her first boyfriend, forever rooted in Shaheen Falls, yearning to anchor Marya alongside him; Imogene, her collegiate confidant and competitor; Maximilian Fein, the intellectual, married mentor who becomes her paramour; Gregory, her academic rival in the race for tenure; Eric, whose demise imparts the lesson of vulnerability; and Vera, the nurturing aunt steering her back to her mother as the story concludes.

These characters, while vividly illustrated within Marya's life, transcend fiction. They become mirrors reflecting the mentors, clergy, lovers, or friends that populate the reader's own experiences.