The narrator of the novel is unnamed, making him seem both familiar and anonymous. He is 29 years old–the same age as his friend, the Rat—and works at a small advertising agency: a quintessentially modern, urban occupation. His personality, as well, seems a quintessentially modern one. He is ironical and deflating, and not given to displays of feeling; he is measured and detached even when discussing events such as his recent divorce. We do not learn anything about what his parents are like, or even whether or not they are still living; he seems to have cut himself off from his origins, and to have very few ties to anyone. Apart from the Rat, who has gone on the lam, his closest bond is with J, an old Chinese bartender at what was once his favorite bar.

Despite his contained and neutral air, however, the narrator does not consider himself to be “regular” in the same way that his ad agency partner is; it is perhaps for this reason that he cannot let himself go to the degree that his partner (who is also unnamed, and is a heavy drinker) does. He is too invested in keeping his oddity a secret, as much from himself as from other people.