This novel, perceived as revolutionary at the time it was published in the early 1990s, uses the individual stories as three good friends as metaphoric representation of the story of an entire generation - Generation X, young people born in the late 1950s and early 1960s. As the narrative explores the ways the three friends struggle to define themselves and their relationships, it also explores themes related to the function and nature of storytelling, the tension between materialism and self-expression, and the power/value of friendship.