Amanda Ziller

Born to a successful (and, as the text continually reminds the reader, enormously fat) businessman, Amanda is no stranger to affluence. The text often flashes back to Amanda's childhood, set in various parts of the world, where Amanda is shown, even as a child, to be magic-minded and already sexualized. Her fascination with nature, particularly butterflies, also began at a very young age. Despite her peculiarities, there is every indication that Amanda's childhood was happy and carefree.

Amanda values style above nearly all else. She sees style as the character of doing, the quality which distinguishes the act from other similar acts. This explains her attraction to John Paul Ziller, a man who invokes style to exclusion of practicality. The philosophy smacks strongly of the circus life to which she briefly belongs, where the theatrics of the experience constitutes half the performance.

Amanda is strongly associated with...