What is the importance of cornmeal in the novel, Other Birds?

The thin coating of cornmeal that covers Mac each morning serves as a physical symbol of his grief over Camille’s death. He is so haunted by his memories of her and his inability to let her go that he is literally coated with the memory of her each morning. Further, the apparition of the cornmeal often prevents Mac from taking steps in his relationship with Charlotte; he is frightened, for instance, of letting her sleep in his bed, because he thinks she will wake up covered in cornmeal. Thus, the cornmeal serves as a representation of Mac’s grief and the obstacles it poses to his moving forward in life.