abusive boyfriend Krishna, a musician/bartender who can spot beings like Alan and his family, and hates them. Krishna amputates Mimi's wings every three months; she stays with him because she believes he's the only one willing and able to make her "normal." Characters Alan, the main character, is called by several names that start with "A", such as Adam and Abby. His brothers' names follow the same pattern, from "B" through "G" for the seventh and youngest brother. No name is given for their parents other than "mother" and "father". Alan is largely known as "Alan" in the narrator's voice, though rarely in any character's voice. Only in a few places does the narrator call Alan by another name. Alan's neighbors' first names also follow an alphabetic sequence: Krishna, Link, Mimi, and Natalie. Mimi is merely a name that she is called, described as being "as good as any other". There are repeat uses of some of these letters, namely Kurt, Lyman, and Marci. (An O and a P name are also briefly mentioned). There are also six anarchists collectively known as Waldo. Almost everyone is known by their first name only. A good number of people are nameless, described by some physical characteristic instead. External links Official website for the novel, on Doctorow's site 2005 Canadian novels Novels by Cory Doctorow Anarchist fiction Creative Commons-licensed novels Novels set in Northern Ontario Tor Books books