Long Island Compromise

Bernard, later referred to by the name “Beamer” in adulthood, is one of the novel’s four protagonists. He is the middle child of Carl and Ruth Fletcher. He works as a screenwriter and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Noelle, and his children, Liesl and Wolfie.

Late in the novel, Beamer explains to Noelle that he uses drugs and hires sex workers on a regular basis so that he can function normally the rest of the week. His relies on drugs and BDSM to avoid engaging with his trauma in a meaningful way. This supports the novel’s larger exploration of Trauma and Familial Repression.

Beamer works as a movie screenwriter, having broken into Hollywood with The Santiago Trilogy, a moderately successful series of action films. Beamer’s friend and former writing partner, Charlie Messinger, suggests to Beamer that his trauma is holding him back from progressing in his career. Beamer is obsessed with adding elements of kidnapping to every screenplay he writes, but when Charlie suggests writing something about his family’s dynamic with the factory, Beamer finds the idea boring. He changes his mind when Charlie uses the idea to produce Family Business, a highly successful television show. Beamer is frustrated by the fact that he did not conceive of the show himself, considering that he was closer to the source material than Charlie was.