Summary

Chapter 1, Part 1 – In Part 3 of the novel, Boy returns as narrator. She describes family Thanksgiving dinner, which is attended by Clara and her husband John (who behave, according to Boy, with dignity and restraint); Olivia and her husband Gerald; Agnes and Vivian; Arturo and Bird; and Snow. The atmosphere is tense, with confrontations about the choices made by various members of the family threatening to explode into the open. Boy marvels at the ability of both Clara and Olivia to restrain themselves, and notices that both Bird and Snow are watching and listening closely.

Later, while doing the dishes after dinner, Boy and Snow try to make peace with each other, but don’t look at each other – instead, they look at their reflections in the dishwater. Boy convinces Snow that the only way they can make their relationship work is if...