The novel opens with the words, “We wanted more” (1). There are six hands grabbing at all of the food at the dinner table, touching all of the objects in the house, shoving each other. There are three brothers: Manny, Joel, and the narrator. They are clamorous, hungry, and violent, and they desire everything.

They follow behind their father, who gives them spankings. When he is gone, they all “[want] to be fathers,” too (2). They hunt for small animals in the woods to hear the creatures’ heartbeats and then throw them in a shoebox.

In contrast to their father, their mother is both loud and soft. She cries and tells them she loves them. Sometimes, she sleeps, and all is quiet.

The boys are in the kitchen, smashing tomatoes with a small mallet like they have seen a man do on television. When the tomatoes are gone they go into the bathroom and take tubes of their mother’s moisturizer. Tomato and lotion cover the kitchen, the boys’ clothes, and faces.

When their mother comes into the kitchen, she doesn’t immediately notice what’s going on. She works nights at a brewery. She is often confused about the time of day.