The Narrator

The narrator, never named, is 18 and 19 years old for much of the book. She is the narrator of the novel, is highly introspective, and is apparently quite attractive. She is the younger sister of her brother, and always falls in his shadow due to their mother’s constant concern for the brother after he has survived cancer. When she is 13, the narrator is raped by her uncle, and this sets her on a course of wild, and later violent, sexual encounters, ranging from boys and men she barely knows, to complete strangers. She even begins a sexual affair with her uncle, for she finds escape from the pain she feels in her life through violent sex. The narrator continues to spiral out of control when she learns her brother’s cancer has returned, and she attempts to briefly right herself for his sake, though this does not...