Summary

Here again, the present-tense writing of the summary reflects the immediacy and energy of the narrative in this final section of the book.

One night in the spring before the summertime trip with his mother, the narrator is awakened from a deep sleep by an insistent sound, an experience that reminds him of the violent awakening he experienced during an earthquake. He realizes quickly that Mitko is at his door, and as he recalls R’s warnings against connecting with Mitko ever again, the narrator lets him in.

Mitko, the narrator sees immediately, is deeply unwell, perhaps not having responded to the treatment for syphilis or perhaps having suffered more serious liver damage. He is also, the narrator notes, more drunk than he has ever been. He collapses first on the narrator’s couch, then attempts to leave, then changes his...