William

William is the first-person narrator of the novel, and the novel encompasses his life from 1958 (when he is 12 years old) to 1995 (when he is 49 years old). William goes through periods in his life when he is tremendously anxious and depressed because of what he sees as the existential threat of nuclear war. Chronologically speaking, the novel is bookended by two breakdowns that William has over this idea. The first, in 1958, consists of William attempting to make a fallout shelter out of his family's Ping-Pong table in the basement. William's breakdown in 1995 is more serious, as he begins to dig a large hole in his backyard, much to the chagrin of his wife, Bobbi, and his 12-year-old daughter, Melinda. As Bobbi prepares to take Melinda and leave William, on account of his erratic behavior, William takes the dramatic step of trapping them both in the master bedroom of their...