Genre
A novel
Setting and Context
The majority of events in the story takes place in New York. Time period is 1970s-2000s.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is told from the third-person point of view by an omniscient narrator. The first part of the novel is about Lotto while the second part is about Mathilde.
Tone and Mood
The narrator’s tone varies between thoughtful and ironic. The mood is moving, unsettling.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Lotto and Mathilde are protagonists of the novel. Lott’s narcissism and Mathilde’s secrecy are the antagonists of the story.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is person vs. self. The characters have to fight with their inner demons.
Climax
Lotto’s death is the climax of the story.
Foreshadowing
What a name! You’ll be beat up for sure!
Understatement
Who’s this? Bridget with the spaniel’s face, oh dear, clutching him. They’d hooked up, what, two times? [Eight.]
Lotto manages to forget a girl with whom he has slept eight times.
Allusions
The novel alludes to legends about King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table.
Imagery
see the imagery section
Paradox
The paradox of being a mermaid: the lazier she looks, the harder the mermaid works.
Women who screwed deserved the scorn they got. Lotto was doing what men do. They didn’t make up the rules.
The paradox is that there are no rules. Lotto’s roommates praise his ability to charm women and despise women for allowing Lotto to charm them.
Parallelism
Global warming, schmobal schwarming.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The building emptied out, front doors locked. (The building is synecdoche that denotes people who had been in the building and then left.)
Beside the girl was a fat boy with glasses and a sly expression, the girl’s twin. (Glasses are metonymy that denotes specs.)
Personification
The seabirds stopped their turning, the ocean went mute.
