Point of View

Except for the prologue and epilogue, the novel is written in the first person point of view of Wilbur Swain. The novel is his memoir as a 100-year-old man reflecting on his extraordinary life. The prologue is written from the author's point of view. It explains how much of his own history in terms of family and relationships helped spur the idea for this novel, which he calls the closest to a biography that he will ever write. The epilogue is written in a third-person point of view. It describes his conversation with Eliza in the afterlife through the Hooligan contraption. It also explains how he fathered a child while in withdrawal from tri-benzo-Deportamil and his impending travels to and experiences in New York. It touches more on his first encounters with Vera and Melody and her personal journey to find him.

Setting

The novel takes...