Summary

“Isabelle” is narrated by an unnamed teenage boy, but the story focuses on a man nicknamed Split Lip. Split Lip is a single father whose wife left him. His young, highly disabled daughter is named Isabelle, but people sometimes refer to her as Boneless. To cover the costs of Isabelle’s healthcare, Split Lip works as a police officer and as a water purifier salesperson. As the neighborhood’s African-American population increases, property values decrease due to societal racism. The white neighbors then resent the black neighbors even more due to these decreases in property values. One day, the narrator witnesses Split Lip murder a young black man by drowning him. The narrator and the brother of the murdered boy acquire a gun and decide to kill Split Lip. When they arrive at Split Lip’s house, he is bathing Isabelle. He begs...