Joe

Joe is one of the novel’s main characters and first-person narrators. All of the chapters labeled as “Joe” are written from Joe’s first person perspective and trace Joe’s storyline. In the narrative present, Joe is 56 years old and dying of cancer. Because he is on medications and consigned to his bed, he spends the majority of his time remembering and reflecting upon his past. His circumstances in the present, therefore, dictate his psychological and emotional concerns throughout the novel. They also determine the formal presentation of Joe’s chapters.

When Joe is six years old, his younger sister, Ruthie, disappears. For the rest of his life, Joe blames himself for what happened to Ruthie, because he was the last person to see her. He therefore lives with the guilt of his sister’s unresolved fate. For a time, he tells himself that Ruthie is gone...