No Beating Around the Bush
This novel goes from start to finish like a train on its track, no turning back, no jumping around. You feel like you are living all of Peekay's childhood with him in real-time, because of the way that he just keeps telling us everything that happened, without diversions.
At a couple points in the story a few years pass by unaccounted for, but even then Peekay alerts us to the fact that time has gone by:
After the first year, when we had boxed every school twice and I was still unbeaten, it became difficult to get a bet against me. [...] In a fight against Geldenhuis toward the end of the second year, where the odds were twenty to one on Geldenhuis beating me, I only narrowly won on points.
By the time we reached form three our younger boxers were beginning to win. (17.6-7)
Even though he's blasting through two years at warp speed, Peekay doesn't leave his readers behind, always marking time for them. How thoughtful of him.