Genre
Realist novel.
Setting and Context
The book is set in London with half the narrative taking place in the 1960s and half in the 2000s.
Narrator and Point of View
Tony Webster is the narrator; the point of view stays with him.
Tone and Mood
The tone is contemplative and comic; the mood is melancholic and remorseful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Tony is the novel's protagonist; Veronica is the main antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the story is that Tony longs to know how he was involved in his friend's decision to kill himself but cannot trust his own selective memory.
Climax
The story reaches its climax when Tony finally understands that his cruel letter prompted Adrian to meet Veronica's mother, with whom he started an affair. After Veronica's mother became pregnant, Adrian committed suicide.
Foreshadowing
Understatement
Allusions
The novel alludes to the French writer Albert Camus and his idea that the question of whether or not to commit suicide is the most fundamental philosophical problem.
