Chapters 31 and 32 Summary

On the morning of his 50th birthday, Wilbur rides Budweiser into town to collect his mail. There is a letter from Eliza sent two weeks previously saying Happy Birthday and announcing her trip to China. There is a more recent letter from Fu Manchu informing him of Eliza's death in an avalanche. Wilbur is coping with the weight of this information on the wooden porch in front of the post office when the strangest feeling comes over him. He can't begin to move his feet and his features get dragged down "like melting wax." Gravity has suddenly shifted, becoming far more oppressive. The nearby church bell collapses and Wilbur crashes through the porch floor to the earth below. Around the world, elevator cables snap, planes crash, and bridges collapse, among many other tragedies.

The jolt of gravity lasts less than a...