Part 2, Exile Summary and Analysis

Part Two, Exile, begins with the family's arrival in Montréal. Eva catches her first glimpse of Canadian teenagers and is horrified by the high heels and makeup. The look is vulgar to the unadorned Polish girl and Eva thinks that the girls look like prostitutes. On the train people tend to avoid the family, because they have suitcases full of food including sausages, canned sardines and dried cake. The family does not know about the dining cars on the train and even if they did the food was much too expensive.

The train cuts through the wilderness and Eva's parents are thrilled by the brilliant landscape. Eva, on the other hand, is disconsolate and refuses to look. It is not until later when Eva takes a bus tour across Canada that she realizes what she had missed on...