Summary

Chapter 5 begins with Jakub’s narration of his childhood. When he was thirteen years old, Jakub was “bedridden with fever and stomachaches” (59). While he was recovering in bed, a man entered his family’s house. The man placed a large, metal shoe on the table, and told Jakub and his grandparents about how Jakub’s father used the shoe to torture him. The man told Jakub’s grandfather that he acquired the torture device because he became a wealthy man. The man insinuated that he would attain justice for what Jakub’s father did to him. Before Jakub's grandfather ordered the man to leave, the man asked Jakub what he wanted to be when he grew up, and Jakub told him that he wanted to be an astronaut.

Once the man left, Jakub spoke...