Jesus' Son

The protagonist and narrator of all the stories in Jesus’ Son is a self-destructive man known only by the nickname of F**khead. He has a substance use disorder, with both drugs and alcohol. Each story surrounds a different time in F**khead’s life, typically while he antagonizes those around him while trying to acquire substances. The scattered, surreal, nonlinear narrative structure and descriptive writing of Jesus’ Son means that very little is revealed about F**khead’s early life, family, physical appearance, or interests.

F**khead’s narration can be typically considered unreliable, if only because he’s nearly always under the influence. Occasionally, F**khead shows knowledge of events that he shouldn’t know, such as his premonitions from “Car Crash While Hitchhiking,” demonstrating this unreliability. However, the unreliability serves a narrative purpose, as it shows the extent to which F**khead’s daily life is affected by his Substance Use Disorder.

F**khead’s interactions with people typically demonstrate his unreliable and chaotic behavior. F**khead hurts many people, and allows many more to be hurt, with his internal monologue, demonstrating the tension between his behavior and his desire to be a better person. Through the course of the collection, F**khead demonstrates a willingness to change his behavior and improve as a person, such as his multiple stints in detox.