The story is told in the first person, by Kitty Killen. It is set in Scotland in the 1980s, when anti-nuclear protests were prominent in the news.

When Helen runs out of the classroom in distress, Mrs Lupey sends Kitty after her, despite the two not being particular friends. Kitty soon realizes that Helen dislikes the man her mother is going to marry, so she tells her the story of how she first loathed Gerald, her mother’s boyfriend, and how she gradually got used to him, despite his anti-CND views. “Goggle-Eyes”‘ is the nickname Kitty gives Gerald, because of the way he stares (“goggles”) at Kitty’s mother. The story is told in a cloakroom cupboard during one morning, with occasional interruptions from Liz and Mrs Lupey.

 

安．范恩的小說從逗趣到嚴肅的都有，但喜劇性的多半較成功，其中《金魚眼叔叔》可說是頂尖的一部了。在美國，《金魚眼叔叔》也被改編成電影，名叫「我與金魚眼的戰爭」。安．范恩的慧黠幽默，以及她一向所關注的家庭問題及社會公共議題，都在《金魚眼叔叔》這本書中巧妙地融為一爐了。而女主角吉蒂高超的說故事技巧，差點兒讓人忘了，整本書──我們正在閱讀的──竟只不過是她窩在一個昏暗狹小的儲物櫃裡，向同學海倫所述說的一個故事而已呢，多麼了不起的本領！