G.G.

G.G. is the first person narrator and main character of the novel. He is from Bulgaria, and living in Zurich, Switzerland. He relocates to Zurich after inventing and then meeting Gaustine “in flesh and blood” (18). When they first meet, Gaustine shares with G.G. his plans to open a clinic of the past. G.G. is struck by this notion because, he claims it was his idea: “I’ve had it in my head for years, but clearly somebody beat me to it. (I must admit that in my case the idea was for a novel, but still)” (16). G.G., therefore, is protective and possessive of his ideas, particularly as they relate to his writing endeavors. In the increasingly amorphous narrative present, G.G. is indeed “just starting to write a novel about the discreet monster of the past, its deceptive innocence, and so on, and...