Andrew

Andrew is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. The novel’s framing device is that Andrew is recounting salient events from his life while talking to a psychotherapist. Andrew has been highly educated in the field of cognitive science, and he often makes reference to cognitive science as a means of expressing his own existential crises about the nature of life and reality. Andrew and his first wife Martha had a child. However, Andrew and Martha divorced after the child died from being prescribed the wrong medication. Andrew then moved to Utah, where he worked as a professor of cognitive science. He soon fell in love with an undergraduate student named Briony. After Briony graduated, she and Andrew moved to New York City to live together. They also had a child together.

After Briony died during the 9/11 attacks, Andrew had an emotional breakdown. He gave his child to...