Preface Summary

The narrator, Jeremy, tells us that ever since his parents died in a car crash when he was eight years old, he has searched for substitutes in his friends' parents. Jeremy has been successful in finding parental stand-ins over the years, especially as a teenager, when most of his peers preferred to ignore their own folks. From this pool of rejected parents, he was able to obtain, as a seventeen year old, affection, company, home-cooked meals, advice, and even money. At home he lived with his sister, Jean, and her new husband, Harper. The young couple fought viciously, neglecting Jean's three year old child, Sally. Jeremy felt a responsibility to look after Sally, and indeed recalls it as being good for him to take care of the child. "I never had any doubts about it: at some level you remain an orphan for...