To complicate matters, Jack has a one-night stand with the mayor's daughter. The very next day his wife hears about it and moves out, thereby reducing his life to what he describes as "a triangle with the three points being my store, the house, and the pub." It is at the third of these that he ends up spending most of his time, plotting and bonding with his buddies-"dialoguing", as it were.

Unfortunately, much of the dialogue through the novel is like this: "What seems trivial is only mildly so compared to everything else our species does. We have no external reference point, so momentous issues are not perceived as being kindred to the mundane. Doubtless if there is an ancient extraterrestrial intelligence pontificating on our race, he would consider Einstein's discovering general relativity to be of a different order of magnitude than the old genius picking his ear with a car key."

Still, Kennedy, who is an actor and stand-up comedian, does create a few humorous moments, most notably in the character of Eagle, Jack's best friend, but also in the voice of Jack himself. As a narrator, Jack alternates between self-depreciation and arrogance as he tries to get his life back on track. His recognition of the ironies in his situation provide welcome comic relief.