Dialogue with the Mirror Summary

In this tiny masterpiece, Garcia Marquez somewhat humorously describes a man awakening, coming fully to his senses as he shaves, and struggling to remember the name of a particular shop he passes every day with an assortment of goods from hardware to liquor. The man carries on a frantic interior monologue as he races through his morning paces: "Having to shave when I have to be over the books in 20 minutes. Bath eight minutes, five if I hurry, breakfast seven. Unpleasant old sausages." As his thoughts race inside his head, the man looks into the mirror and briefly sees his dead twin brother; steam from hot water in the basin rises and the man wastes a few of his precious minutes making inane faces at himself in the mirror. As thoughts and sensations flood his awakening brain...