The Joker's notebook functions as a symbol that records a life the community dismisses and keeps that life visible in the narrative. Labeled "Tales of a Joker, by Midas T. Benny" (122), the notebook is a handwritten record of stories and life advice composed by a man the community regards as little more than a punchline. Emanuel strips it from the Joker's body after murdering him, treating it as incidental evidence to be managed instead of recognizing it as the written work of the man he has just killed. As the notebook changes hands across the narrative, it continues to carry the presence of its author despite this attempt to reduce him to nothing. It moves from Emanuel's nightstand to Priscilla's hands to Diamond's possession, and at each point, it brings into view details about the Winfrey family that would otherwise remain concealed.

Diamond becomes its most significant reader. She discovers that the writing is "so good even though it was a little sad" (181), filled with practical wisdom and the voices of men she recognizes from her own world. The notebook returns attention to a man who had been treated as disposable, including the moment when Sergeant Nabors made him dance for $5 and when Emanuel beat him to death for asserting himself. In the Epilogue, Diamond adopts the Joker's self-description as "a grief taker, a salt-eater" (228) and applies it to her own survival, showing how his words continue to circulate beyond his death and shape how others understand their lives. The notebook persists beyond the violence that attempted to erase its author, carrying forward a voice that others try to silence but cannot fully remove from the world of the novel.