In the various responses of the people of Garden Hills to their changed world, Crews shows a variety of approaches to contemporary life and moves his narrative through the conflicts among them. The primary antagonist to Dolly and her new system is sixhundred pound Aaron Mayhugh—Fat Man. Son of the only inhabitant of the land originally purchased by O'Boylan, Fat Man has grown up in a mansion on the edge of Garden Hills and, having found the world outside hostile and confusing, has retreated to the protection of his house and the power it has always represented. What he needs from the world he attempts to control by importing and ingesting: he orders and consumes huge quantities of food and buys enormous numbers of books.

Since both his food and his books depend on his income from O'Boylan, however, Fat Man remains a symbol of the...