Charismatic yet “mediocre” (99) by his own estimation, perceptive yet filled with self-pity, the book’s narrator Tom Wingo is a complex, contradictory character. Though he sets out to tell the story of Savannah, his twin sister, he reveals more about himself in the process, a detail he astutely captures when he tells the reader that the only story he can narrate is his own. It is evident from his narration that Tom is a man of uncommon intellect and sensitivity, but the circumstances of his life and his flaws have placed him in a position of passivity. Tom’s deepest flaws are his tendency towards self-pity, his overt sensitivity about his southern heritage, and his habit of generalizations. His greatest gifts are his keen observation, deep empathy, and loyalty towards those he loves. Tom’s narration shows that he follows “the southern way” (71), the habit of seeking humor even in the darkest events. Sometimes Tom’s jokes can be boundary-crossing, such as when he uses racial slurs to deliberately bait Susan or jokes about his older daughter’s changing body.

At the start of the novel, Tom is at an all-time low, distant from all the important women in his life and on the verge of losing his beloved children.