Summary

The second chapter, which is told in flashback, seemingly without regard for the traumatic events that have unfolded in the book’s opening, tell the story of how Lionel and the rest of the Minna Men came to be given their peculiar stations in life. Lionel describes himself as a bookish loner before being handpicked along with three others by Frank Minna to help him with a ‘moving job’. Of the four boys, the natural leader is Tony Vermonte, the oldest and sole Italian of the group, and a charismatic braggart. Lionel and Gilbert are the same age, and while they do share some kind of bond, it is clear Gilbert favors (as do most of the boys) the older and more confident Tony. The last boy chosen in the group is Danny Fantl, a quietly confident, even detached basketball prodigy who alone among the boys...