Wallace is an overweight gay Black biochemistry grad student
who feels like he is swimming upstream in an all-white world. He describes himself as shy, but the dialog
indicates otherwise, until it comes to defending himself against unjust
accusations and racist remarks. He feels
that his suffering is basically a lost cause and that rising up against his
tormentors will cause more problems than he already has. He is smart and meticulous, and most of his
friends are fellow lab researchers, but some of them are downright hostile and
even sadistic. No one goes out on a limb
to stand up for him, although Brigit is a good friend who is Asian and
therefore an outsider as well. Wallace
becomes involved with Miller, who has a violent streak and insists that he is
not gay. Uncertain about how this
relationship is going to unfold, or if it even is a relationship, Wallace is
lonely, depressed, and rudderless. He is
the only character that is fully developed, and his problems consume the
entirety of this powerful novel that explores the plight of a Black man trying
to make his mark in a society in which the deck is stacked against him. His complaisance is so frustrating, and yet
his dilemma is understandable, especially against the backdrop of sexual abuse
he suffered as a child. He knows he is a
victim of circumstances that he cannot change.
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