Part 1, pp. 1 - 11 Summary

This multi-layered, poetically written narrative is a portrait of Marina, an elderly woman with a troubled past, a difficult present (due to Alzheimer's disease) and an uncertain future. As stories of her past and present intertwine, and as Marina finds it more and more difficult to distinguish between the two, the narrative explores thematic questions related to the nature and value of both memory and art, and the importance of loyalty and devotion.

The Tour - In the first person voice of a tour guide, narration takes the reader into a museum, describing the decoration, the quality of the light, the furnishings, and the sparse meal eaten by a few of its residents. Narration suggests that the scene is set during a "siege", and that the museum's residents are eating painting supplies brought in before the siege began. A...