Summary

The novel begins with a third-person omniscient narrator introducing the reader to Joe Harris, a vibrant, enthusiastic, socialite with high-functioning Williams syndrome, which causes him to speak his mind freely and be extremely trusting with his time, finances, and personal space. Joe’s father is a professor of American history at Columbia and his mother passed away when Joe was eight at an accident at a picnic.

After graduating public school, Joe begam serving at the Abyssinian Coffee Shop, a diner where he is well liked by customers and staff alike for his vibrant personality and trustworthy youthfulness. Joe’s relationship to music begins after his mother died, beginning with learning the ukulele and eventually acquiring an electric bass on his sixteenth birthday, a gift from his father. He played every day, either covering others’ music or writing his own, all from an ego-less...