Summary

Each part is divided into six chapters. The six chapters of Part I are each titled after one of the novel’s main characters, with the exception of Chapter 4, which is named after the major multinational company that gets involved in Brazil.

Chapter 1 opens with the cryptic statement: “I was brought back by a memory.” The identity of “I” is not stated, and the memory is not specified. The still unidentified narrator introduces a young boy named Kazumasa Ishimaru, growing up in Japan. One day, while he is playing by the seaside, a “flying mass of fire” (3) plunges into the waves, spreading debris like “tempura dipped in batter [being] plunged into hot oil” (3-4). Later, Kazumasa’s mother notes a “tiny sphere whirling on its axis” (4) a couple inches from her son’s face and that seems connected to...