| Contents |
Chapter 1. In which Benny Profane, a schlemihl and human yo-yo, gets to an apocheir -- Chapter 2. The Whole Sick Crew -- Chapter 3. In which Stencil, a quick-change artist, does eight impersonations -- Chapter 4. In which Esther gets a nose job -- Chapter 5. In which Stencil nearly goes West with an alligator -- Chapter 6. In which Profane returns to street level -- Chapter 7. She hangs on the western wall -- Chapter 8. In which Rachel gets her yo-yo back, Roony sings a song, and stencil calls on Bloody Chiclitz -- Chapter 9. Mondaugen's story -- Chapter 10. In which various sets of young people get together -- Chapter 11. Confessions of Fausto Maijstral -- Chapter 12. In which things are not so amusing -- Chapter 13. In which the yo-yo string is revealed as a state of mind -- Chapter 14. V. in love -- Chapter 15. Sahha -- Chapter 16. Valletta -- Epilogue. |
| Subject |
Having just been released from the Navy, Benny Profane is content to lead a slothful existence with his friends, where the only real ambition is to perfect the art of "schlemihlhood," or being a dupe, and where "responsibility" is a dirty word. Among his pals--called the Whole Sick Crew--is Slab, an artist who can't seem to paint anything other than cheese danishes. But Profane's life changes dramatically when he befriends Stencil, an active ambitious young man with an intriguing mission--to find out the identity of a woman named V., who knew Stencil's father during the war, but who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared |
