Summary

Before the first chapter (titled "8/27? 28? Two Days Before End of Ramadan") begins, the author inserts a passage from the Book of Numbers in the King James Bible. The passage is from Numbers 14:32-34. The original passage is “translated” using a translation software from a website called Tetration. The two passages read in different ways and set the reader up for what is to come later in the novel.

The first chapter introduces Joshua Cohen (the Narrator, who can be interpreted as a fictional aspect of Joshua Cohen the actual author), a ghostwriter struggling to gain notoriety in the literary world. Born in New Jersey to Jewish parents, Cohen the Narrator has lived in New York City for several decades. He is bordering on 40 and is in the middle of a separation from his wife, Rachava (“Rach”).

Right away, Cohen the Narrator states that...