The structure of Waiting for the End of the World continues the pattern set in The Washington Square Ensemble (1983), with a prologue and five parts, each of which focuses upon a distinctive element of the novel. Combined, these five parts, or books, lend an epic quality to the events portrayed. In the prologue, Bell describes the theft of the nuclear material from the perspective of the Virginia highway patrolmen who discover that the truck is missing and the driver has been murdered. After the prologue's end, the perspective of the social establishment does not reenter the novel until near the end of the final section. "Part I, The Unicorn" (Chapters 1-14) relates significant events in Larkin's life from birth, through his association with Tommy, to the time he leaves Tommy with Arkady. Since this part ends with Arkady's comparing him to the unicorn, clearly Larkin is linked to...