Part One Summary

"The Great and Secret Show: The First Book of the Art" is a novel about human desires an extremes, following two great men as they battle against one another for the future of humanity. In chapter one, Jaffe has begun working at the post office and goes to see Homer, who wants him to sort through a giant pile of lost mail and search for money. Jaffe has always wanted to be King of the World, but hasn't managed to hold a job for more than a year and a half, and he is thirty-seven years old. He begins to open the mail and search through it, and the job lasts for months as more mail is constantly added to the pile. He realizes that he's in the crossroads of America. Every thousandth or so letter has a secret, and suggests...