Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of incest, body horror, abuse, ableism, suicide, and assault. 

Olympia Binewski, known as Oly by her family and as Olympia “Hopalong” McGurk when she moves to Portland, is the protagonist and narrator of the story. She is born an albino hunchback dwarf and is part of a family that owns a traveling carnival. Despite her appearance, she is not considered “unique” enough to have her own act and works instead as a barker and show assistant. Oly is the peacemaker in her family and tries to smooth out conflicts among her siblings. She has complicated relationships with everyone in her family, but especially with her brother, Arty, to whom she is devoted, even when he acts in ways that frighten and anger her.

Oly’s physical appearance allows her to truly understand the human condition, especially the dark parts. Like the rest of her family, Oly has a distrust of “norms,” normal people outside of the carnival. At the end of the novel, she takes her own life after murdering Miss Lick in order to protect her daughter, Miranda.