Joe Goldberg is the novel’s narrator. It is difficult to call him the story’s protagonist, given that his goals involve killing Amy—and erasing the evidence of other murders—but one of the author’s greatest feats is to make Joe feel like a sympathetic character at times. Despite, or perhaps because of, how unabashedly scathing Joe’s observations are, it makes him a hilarious character whose internal monologue endears him to readers and highlights the ways in which he is an everyman.

Early in the novel, Joe expresses vulnerabilities that make him relatable. He thinks, “Being together is the best feeling in the world, better than sex, better than a red convertible or that first I love you” (19). This need for togetherness is at odds with Joe’s need for secrecy and, at times, a solitude that borders on isolation. His need for connection is also part of what makes Joe vulnerable; he needs external validation to feel valued. He wants to be loved, but his view of love is distorted. For instance, he sees “mimicking as a sign of love” (19). While that is scientifically true, it’s a sign of his sociopathy that he must consciously analyze signs of love rather than feel them.