Summary

Chapter One

Bob was a student at Marymount Manhattan College on the East Side of New York when, in the school’s library, he began writing about years before in Winnipeg when he was 12-years-old. Bob recalled watching his younger sister, 10-year-old Marie Claire - who was also known as the Rat - playing soccer. Before the summer break, she had told him that their father was going to die soon. Bob thought their father had years left but Rat was sure he didn’t. The Rat had good intuition about the future. She had predicted that their dog would run away and he did.

After going inside John, their father, was already soused. He usually didn’t drink until later. He was a good cook and picked up where their mother had left off. She died in a car crash when Bob...