Vampires in the Lemon Grove

Magreb is Clyde’s love interest in “Vampires in the Lemon Grove.” Although Clyde loves her and their routine, Magreb yearns for something more. She begins shapeshifting into a bat seemingly to escape Clyde, but it’s also clear that she still cares for him. By the end of the story, it’s not quite certain whether Magreb has left Clyde for good.

Kitsune is the protagonist of “Reeling for the Empire.” She is the only girl at the factory that chose her fate, and because of this she lives in constant regret. Kitsune is also unlike the other girls because she drank the entire pot of kaiko tea, making her change into the silkworm creature unusually quickly. She drank the tea to prove to the Agent that she was brave, and this bravery is again seen when she leads the girls to rebel against the Agent.

Nal is the teenaged protagonist in “The Seagull Army Descends on Strong Beach, 1979.” He is exceptionally smart but socially awkward. He is in love with a girl his age, but the girl ends up having sex with Nal’s brother. As the seagulls descend in large quantities on the beach in his hometown, he begins to feel like they are stealing people’s futures. The seagulls become symbolic of how Nal feels like he’s not in control of his own destiny.

Nal loves his older brother, but he is also jealous of him. His brother is suave with girls and gets what he wants, but not Nal. However, Nal demonstrates change over the course of the story. While he feels out of control of his life in the beginning of the story, by the end, he takes control and sleeps with Vanessa, something he has wanted to do for a long time. He also stands up to his brother.

Miles is the 11-year-old protagonist from “Proving Up.” He is characterized as eager to please his father and brave: he volunteers to take the glass windowpane to the neighbors, understanding the dangers, because he wants to prove himself to his father. He is also logical. While the adults are obsessed with “proving up” and owning their land, Miles thinks that the land is their home whether they own it or not. In this way, Miles can also be characterized as naïve. Although much of his naiveté is an endearing portrait of childhood innocence, it’s also what gets him into trouble when he encounters the Stranger. Instead of running from the strange man, he offers to let him borrow the window because he knows that was his dad’s mission—to let every neighbor use the window to “prove up.”

The Stranger is the monstrous, ghostlike figure in “Proving Up.” Although his true identity is never known, given the textual evidence, he could very well be a deranged serial killer, a ghost, or a zombie-like creature living off the bodies in the region. No matter how his character is interpreted, it’s clear that he is a murderer: his backyard is littered with dead bodies, and it’s presumed that he kills Miles. It’s also clear that there is at least a supernatural-leaning component to him, since his sod house is literally covered with flies in what seems an unnatural way, and dirt falls out of his mouth, as if it’s coming from somewhere deep inside him. He also knows Miles’s name and his history, even though Miles has never seen the Stranger before.

Rutherford is from “The Barn at the End of Our Term.” He is the former president, Rutherford B. Hayes, but he has been reincarnated into a horse’s body. He is different from the other horse presidents because while they still scheme for power, he thinks only of finding his wife. Also, while the other horse presidents debate whether they’re living in heaven or hell, Rutherford wishes everyone could put the debate aside and enjoy the moment and experience of simply being a horse. 

Not much is known about Dougbert, the narrator of “Dougbert Shackleton’s Rules for Antarctic Tailgating.” He clearly cheers for Team Krill, hates Team Whale, and has been through a bad breakup. He’s very evidently bitter over this breakup because he constantly belittles Team Whale, which is his ex-wife’s lover’s favorite team. Dougbert can be seen as representative of the average American idiot: sports-crazed, blind to the dangers of climate change, and concerned with winning and wealth above all else. 

Beverly is the massage therapist from “The New Veterans.” She is best characterized as a caretaker and healer, and she uses her massage techniques to help people. She first used her massage skills to soothe her dying mother, and later she uses massage to comfort Derek Zeiger, a war veteran. Although she is 44, she finds herself attracted to the much-younger Derek. She never had children or any long-term relationships, and she is attracted to how Derek makes her feel needed.

Derek is the Iraq War veteran from “The New Veterans.” He has been diagnosed with PTSD and is receiving free massages from Beverly as part of a new bill that gives veterans free access to massage therapy. When he was in Iraq, he watched one of his best friends be killed, and Derek blames himself for his death. The fact that he has a tattoo on his back to commemorate the moment of his friend’s death reveals his inability to let go of the past in a healthy way.

Larry is the protagonist from “The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis.” Larry is a self-described bully and finds pleasure in physically and mentally abusing kids that are weaker than him. However, he doesn’t bully mindlessly; he has developed a system of sorts for why and how he bullies other kids, especially Eric. In his own twisted way, he thinks that he’s helping them somehow. By the end of the story, Larry ends up feeling guilt and regret over the way he treated Eric, which shows that he is a dynamic character, since he’s greatly different from the beginning of the story to the end.