The Protagonist

The novel never stated the name of the protagonist, who is also the narrator. Additionally, the novel provides very little backstory. He is a man who is about 30 years old and lives in London. He used to work in an office, for a market research company. One day, he is badly hurt in an accident. He does not remember the accident, and the novel never describes the accident to the reader. The protagonist is temporarily in a coma, after which he must undergo physical therapy to regain his motor functions. The unnamed individual or group responsible for the accident agrees to pay the protagonist 8.5 million English pounds as a settlement. Following the accident, the protagonist feels somewhat distant from the world, both in his movements and his thoughts/emotions. He has difficulty understanding and explaining this feeling, but he feels it deeply nonetheless.

He begins spending his...