Summary

In "Black Snow," convinced that a sentence in Flora’s book "could somehow kill" its reader, Tookie became determined "to destroy the book" (89). Yet the book would not burn. After unsuccessfully attempting to destroy it in other ways, she dug a deep hole and buried it in the yard.

Shortly thereafter, Tookie's "favorite tree" fell down "right next to the house" (91). Tookie "blamed the book" (91). She and Pollux sat in the branches. Asema came over. While talking, Asema scraped her shoe over the spot where the book was buried. Disconcerted, Tookie told her a stray dog was buried there.

Flora kept visiting. Though annoying customers frequented the store, until now, Tookie had never known the store "as a place where . . . evil . . . made it past the blue door" (96). One day, Tookie tried talking to Flora's ghost. She could not understand "the...