Vicente Vardemann

Vicente Vardemann is the narrator of Part I and one of the novel’s three protagonists. At the start of the novel, Vardemann is living in Glaxo and running his father’s barbershop. Vardemann’s preoccuptation with the number of haircuts he’s given on any given day implies that the business is struggling to profit, as does his father’s silent reaction to Vardemann telling him how many customers have visited. It is only in retrospect that the reader can understand the significance of the events told in Part I from Vardemann’s perspective as so much information about Vardemann’s past and his involvement with Miguelito Barrios and Ramon Folcada is withheld in Part I.

It is clear, throughout Part I, that Vardemann is haunted by something from his past due to his preoccupation with Miguelito Barrios and his disturbing dreams about trains being derailed...