The Red Kayak takes the form ofan extended flashback: only the first and last chapters actually unfold in the story's present day. What's more, Brady frequently pauses throughout his narrative to describe memories he had at the time of a particular action or event, which creates a kind of nested, flashback-within-a-flashback effect.

Although the structure of The Red Kayak often has the side benefit of providing the reader with essential background information (e.g. who Amanda was and how she died), it's largely a reflection of the role that the past and memory play in shaping the novel's events.Cummings implies, for instance, that Digger's anger and aggression are learned responses to an abusive childhood. Digger's personal history is therefore part of what drives him to sabotage the DiAngelos' kayak, particularly because that personal history intersects with the broader, class history of Bailey's Wharf; the town is undergoing a form of gentrification, and a farm that once belonged to Digger's grandfather is one of the structures that has been bought, torn down, and replaced.Meanwhile, Brady's evolving responses to the accident are also responses to the past—most obviously, perhaps, when he decides to throw away the incriminating drill in deference to his long friendship with J.