Carlos Eire

Carlos is the author, narrator, and main character of this book. By his own admission, as a child of a judge, he is spoiled and entitled, as are all his friends and classmates. Before the Revolution made many families disappear, he and his brother attend an elite private school run by the Christian Brothers. He spends his days tormenting captive animals (that belong to the private zoo of a neighbor), blowing up lizards, blowing up his own hand with firecrackers, refusing to eat dark food for fear that he will become black and unprivileged, fearing the different antique collectibles in the house, hating his adopted brother, and denying that someday he will lose everything he has.

Carlos is a product of his environment, and is always looking for mischief. This behavior, however, is more encouraged than discouraged by his father, the judge. Only when one of the...