The main narrative is in the form of musings on the passing scene by a character named Gore Vidal. Despite this persona's disclaimer that "he" invents everything in "his" novels, Vidal uses the persona not only to express his own views on life and art but also to make a number of daring personal revelations about his sex life.

Interesting minor characters who pass through this portion of the work in elude Marietta Donegal, largely a caricature of Anais Nin, and Fryer Andrews, to some extent a caricature of Norman Mailer. Vidal deftly diffuses possible accusations of defamation of character in the traditional way of the author of a roman a clef by including a number of references to Nin and Mailer under their own names.

In the sections of the novel presented as excerpts from the twentyyear-old diary of Eric Van Damm, the illusive Eric is himself...