the three parts of the novel are structured around the 1974 revolution. as the insurrection is spearheaded by military officers, each character has to make a crucial choice on whether to join, resist, or flee when the uprising occurs. though all of their lives change according to their choices, the consequences tend to flatten out and by the time of the reunion none of them seems to have gained much, suggesting that the revolution is not as significant to these military men as the war that preceded it.