Chapter I—The Deer

Toward the End of Time is written as if it were the journal of the protagonist, Ben Turnbull, and it begins with an entry written in late November of 2019, describing the first snow of the season. By the end of the first paragraph, the reader knows that the protagonist is somewhat depressed, unable to find even a trace of his “childhood exhilaration” and left only with “an unfocused dread of time.” However, in the second paragraph, Ben is exhilarated, pleased with a new plastic snow shovel, an improvement over the metal ones of his childhood.

Along with many other subjects, the protagonist pays special attention to nature and all its transformations. He is also keenly aware of the people around him and the changes they go through. Ben analyzes his wife, Gloria, whom he says is always trying to tame nature by ordering people...