Summary

The entire novel is told in third-person restricted, which means the reader is given accounts of events through the perspective of a single character, in this case Joe Hackett.

In “See Me,” the first chapter, Joe is a young child. In his pajamas, the boy hangs about the staircase of his home to watch his parents and their neighbors. He is fascinated by the party atmosphere, by the animated talk. He mentions all the drinks and the buckets of ice — he is too young to understand the implications of free-flowing liquor during Prohibition. Ultimately his mother sends him to his room. He goes, reluctantly. Before he falls asleep, however, he considers returning to the staircase. But he knows that would be a sin. He promised his mother to stay in bed. As he drifts off to sleep, he ponders the implications of doing...