The story told by Jess Walter, just like any other novel, is full of joy and pain. Lives intersect and part, people fall in and out of love, and dreams come true and fall apart. What Walter does with his plot, though, is quite different. He writes it in a way where the entire book relies on the reader's ability to realize that, although some people only meet for a short period of time, their dreams and hopes can depend on even the briefest moments. Sometimes the stories of the characters in the novel intersect, some in very interesting ways, and other times you see their story as it is and was, just them. Walter does a great job of bringing together many different lives, many stories, and showing how, just because you feel alone, doesn't mean you are, your life and story can at any moment intersect with another and create a story completely different. Perhaps Alvis Bender puts the idea Walter is trying to convey in the best words: “Stories are people. I am a story, you are a story. . . your father is a story. Our stories go in all directions, but sometimes, if we're lucky, our stories merge into one and for a while we're less alone. “Walter presents readers with his characters in such a way that it feels like a movie. He allows the characters' personalities to grow as the novel progresses and intersect with other characters. The main characters are Pasqual Tursi, Richard Burton, Debra “Dee” Moray, Alvis Bender, Michael Deane, Shane Wheeler, Claire Silver, and Pat Bender. The stories of these eight characters provide the plot of the book. Some stories are tragic and others hopeful, but they all depend on each other certain point during the novel. Walter shows how people's lives can intersect... middle of paper... he left what he wanted, the beautiful American Dee Moray, to do the right thing and be with his mother son, we know that Pasqual led a happy life with Amadea Even after her passing and Pasqual and Dee's reunion, we see that Amadea's influence is still there when Pasqual takes Dee to meet all of his children and grandchildren. Ultimately, Walter does a great job of bringing together multiple different stories and making them intertwine. in various ways. It shows readers that even if one has their own story, other stories from other people's lives show up and interview theirs. No one is ever, truly, alone. This idea is portrayed beautifully throughout the novel and shows that even though you may believe that your life is a ruin and that you are all alone, something or someone can come into your life and, just for a moment, make it beautiful again..