Narrator
The narrator is not really a character in the story in the sense of interacting with the other people, but he is an essential character in the structure of the story. His narration is in the third-person, but he speaks in the same vernacular as the characters and he also occasionally addresses the reader directly as “you.” In addition, he seems to be situated within the storyline taking place even though he really is not.
Battersby
Battersby, also know simply as Bat, is the stimulus of the narrative. The book open with the image of Bat rubbing the adornment of Aladdin’s lamp on the wallpaper of his run-down apartment, wishing money, food and women. The “plot” is about a group of guys trying to make Bat’s wish for them all to go in together and buy a house come true.
Gallows
Gallows is funny and tragic at the same time. Back in Trinidad, he once lost a five pound note of currency and he has ever since never stopped looking for it. Even when he moves to London, he continues to be constantly on the search for that lost money.
Harry Banjo
Harry Banjo is a talent calypso musician who is in London trying desperately to land a big recording contract. He is talented enough, but one needs more than mere talent. For instance, it would seem that one needs to stay out of jail, but Harry does not quite manage to do that.
Poor
Poor is the nickname of a guy with big family to take care of and not nearly enough money to do so. An incident occurs in which Poor is the real guilty party in a crime for which Harry is sent to jail. It’s hardly a secret among the guys that these are the circumstances, but Harry for some reason refuses to implicate Poor so he can go free. The full revelation of what is taking place here will be the key to the book’s unlikely happy ending.
