Structure

The World According to Bob is organized into 18 titled chapters and an epilogue. The chapters appear in the following order: Chapter 1, "The Nightwatchman," Chapter 2, "New Tricks," Chapter 3, "The Bobmobile," Chapter 4, "The Odd Couple," Chapter 5, "The Ghost on the Stairs," Chapter 6, "The Garbage Inspector," Chapter 7, "Cat on a Hoxton Roof," Chapter 8, "None So Blind," Chapter 9, "Bob's Big Night Out," Chapter 10, "Tales of Two Cities,” Chapter 11, “Two Cool Cats,” Chapter 12, “The Joy of Bob,” Chapter 13, “Public Enemy No 1,” Chapter 14, “The One That Saves Me,” Chapter 16, “Doctor Bob,” Chapter 17, “Basic Instincts,” Chapter 18, “Waiting for Bob,” and the epilogue, “Always.”

Studying the above curation and titles of these chapters is paramount to understanding the author’s approach to structure and form. Throughout the memoir, Bowen alternates between chapters depicting his trials and those depicting his joys, particularly as they involve his relationship with Bob. He will, therefore, shift back and forth...