Twist

Anthony Fennell is the protagonist and narrator of Twist, closely following John Conway as both men seek to repair what is broken. Anthony is largely defined by the disconnection he feels in his personal life. His separation from his ex-wife and tenuous relationship with his son haunt him, driving him to feel lost in the world and depend on alcohol. As a writer, he seeks some comfort in his craft but feels that it is not enough to overcome the divide he feels between himself and the world: “I had a feeling that I had exhausted myself and that if I was ever going to write again, I would have to get out into the world. What I needed was a story about connection, about grace, about repair” (5). At the beginning of the novel, Anthony is searching for inspiration, and he finds it with the job on the Georges Lecointe, where his experiences watching Conway and his crew repair the cables that connect the world inspire a new drive in him to reconnect with his son, Joli.

Anthony proves to be a dynamic character as he holds on to the inspiration he finds on the Georges Lecointe even after he departs from it.