A cycle of violence entraps the novel’s characters. Growing up and living in a low-income neighborhood, the characters are never far from the threat or temptation of criminality. Petty criminals like Vinnie are well-known for their depravity, and they co-exist with men like Harry Black, a factory worker who is only ostensibly straight-laced. Criminality brings the characters inevitably closer to violence. Harry is so disorientated by his brief association with criminals that he becomes a criminal himself, ending his story in a bloody broken mess in a parking lot. Likewise, Tralala becomes locked in a self-destructive cycle that ends in a gang rape, while a regular night at the Greek diner ends in a brutal fight so unremarkable that the police barely register the pools of blood on the ground. Violence is endemic to this fictive Brooklyn, and it seems unstoppable, with the characters trapped in an unceasing cycle of brutality and regret.

The inescapable nature of these cycles begets more tragedy. The violence is so consuming that it affects innocent bystanders. Domestic abuse, for instance, is rife in the novel. Before Harry Black becomes a corrupt union official, he already harbors abusive thoughts.