Narrator
The narrator of the stories is never named. He is of Bosnian descent living in American during the war and so feels a strong tie to the bloodshed and political upheaval taking place there, while also recognizing his alienation from it. From the opening page when he pulls out a moleskin journal the stories pursue a narrative charting his ambitions to become a writer.
Spinelli
Steven Spinelli is a drum-beating, Zeppelin-loving loser who loves to smoke while spinning fabulously unlikely tales which captivate the narrator even as he sees through them to be the lies they are and fantasy-sinner Spinelli is. Until, that is, that he discovers clues that perhaps Spinelli isn’t quite what he seems to be.
Bogdan
Bogdan is a Bosnian refugee who has made his way to Chicago. Unlike the narrator, however, the quiet and reserved Bogdan was in Bosnia during the war. In fact, he lost both his parents, was drafted into the military and witnessed the kind of horror the narrator could never know while living in America.
Muhamed D.
Familiarly known as Dedo, Muhamed D. is also a writer. Unlike the narrator, Muhamed D. had four poems in published in the Anthology of Contemporary Bosnian Poetry. He is invited to recite poems at a writer’s club where the narrator insults him, but later bonds over drink and respect. That respect is undermined a bit with an embarrassing introduction to the legendary poet’s wife.
Dick Macalister
Macalister is another famous writer the narrator meets. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a novel about Vietnam and very famous. As a result, the narrator is astounded when the famous man invites himself to his family’s home for lunch. The resulting scenes are among the highlights of the book.
