Lenny Lynskey

Lenny Lynskey is a young Jewish man and one of the central characters. At the beginning of the novel, he is 18 years old and living in his hometown of London. The year is 1949. However, after Lenny and his twin sister Miriam are diagnosed with tuberculosis, they are admitted to a tuberculosis hospital in the county of Kent. Lenny is at first rebellious but soon obeys the hospital’s restrictions. After the arrival of the rebellious Arthur Persky, Lenny begins to rebel against the hospital’s stultifying atmosphere.

After Manny manages to covertly send some streptomycin antibiotics to the hospital, Lenny and Arthur administer the antibiotic to Miriam. The medicine cures her tuberculosis but causes her to lose her hearing, possibly due to the drug being administered improperly. After Lenny and Miriam are discharged from the hospital, Lenny marries Valerie Lewis and finds success in television production. However...