“If you can fight, you don’t have to fight. And you don’t have to cower. And girls like that, whatever they say.”
The story revolves around the underworld of violence and depravity and its impact on a man’s mentality and personality. The protagonist is born into this world of gangs and violence; hence, he becomes a product of his environment. It explores the aspect of abusive power and how it is passed down in the form of toxic masculinity. Consequently, the line between bravery and cowardice is demonstrated through the action of the male characters in the story. When coming of age as a young adult, Xan had to strike a balance between the two while at an environment where violence was not a norm. The quote is Xan affirming how he reconciles the two without seeming as a coward while not displaying violence, further examining the dynamic of gender relations in terms of perception, violence, and control.
“I said at the time that I'd remember that for the rest of my life, but I had to be reminded of it. Like my younger daughter's birth. Sophie's birth. I’d forgotten it. I've forgotten it. It's not there.”
In an environment defined by cruelty and extreme physical violence, the dwellers are bound to meet the cost in one way or another. The protagonist Xan is the perfect example of an individual who has suffered irreparable damage from physical violence. As the main motif, the story explores brain damage either from physical trauma as is the case with Xan or from emotional trauma. Xan suffers from a personality change that also affects his memory that greatly impacts his relationship with his family. Beyond the inability to recollect important moments in his life before the assault, his family relationship also becomes strained and even disturbing.
“Where I live there are all these treatment centres for vices and inadequacies and addictions. Incestuous fathers are taught how to sublimate. They make their poor wives dress up as little girls.”
The story is jam-packed with dark subject matter such as pornography, incest, murder, and sexual abuse. Therefore, the idea of moral decline is explored through the characters with their inclinations that are either taboo or illegal. For instance, Xan is sexually attracted to his daughter Billie after his brain damage changes his personality. Cora in disguise as Karla White, a porn actress, tries to convince Xan to service his urges despite their disturbing nature and consequences. Karla further persuades him that such acts have been normalized even though they seem darker and taboo. However, Cora has an agenda against Xan and thus manipulates him; still, their discourse highlights the moral decline in their environment.
