Genre
Dark comedy
Setting and Context
Real life New York and an imaginary world, in an unspecified time period
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator
Tone and Mood
The tone is confusing; the mood is shocking.
Protagonist and Antagonist
J. Henry Waugh is the protagonist; Rutherford is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the book occurs when J. Henry Waugh starts to transport himself into his imaginary world.
Climax
The climax of the book is reached when Rutherford is tragically killed by a ball thrown by an opposing player.
Foreshadowing
Henry's personal crisis and spiralling is foreshadowed by the death of Damon Rutherford.
Understatement
The role of fantasy is understated throughout the book.
Allusions
The book alludes to the problems that a lack of reality can bring.
Imagery
The imagery of a chaotic world of baseball is present in the book.
Paradox
The fact that Henry's imaginary world affects him in real-life is an example of paradox in the book.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the world that Henry creates and Robert Cooper's belief in creationism.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
