Food

Lionel is fairly obsessive about food. His contemplation of sandwiches in particular provide fodder for several of his insights and opinions. He finds distracting comfort in food for its ability to be manipulated and considered in very particular ways, an outlet for his Tourette’s impulses.

Jokes

Frank Minna instilled in Lionel a deep affinity for telling jokes. The fact that jokes have very particular methods and orders of telling also provide an opportunity for Lionel to exercise his obsessive streak. Many characters besides these two are presented as either proffering or responding to jokes in the novel and more than one chapter ends with the telling of a joke.

Popular Culture

Many characters, including Lionel make multiple references to popular culture. Bearing in mind the novel itself is something of a pastiche of a particular form of popular entertainment, the detective novel, it is worth considering the...