Chapters 16-20 Summary

Chapter 16 is called "Letters to Mandras at the Front." Mandras has gone to war and Pelagia writes him faithfully, although she does not hear back. She does not know if her letters are reaching him. She gives him news of the island. The older men who used to argue about politics have come together to support the war. Italian families are sometimes harassed in the village. With all the young men gone, the festivals are subdued.

Chapter 17 is the fifth installment of Carlo's testimony, called "L'Omosessuale (5)". The conditions fighting in Greece have become deplorable. Extreme cold, a lack of adequate clothing and food, and the persistent attacks of the Greeks have driven Francisco nearly mad. Francisco writes a letter to his mother and gives it to Carlo to deliver in case of his death. Carlo writes that he did eventually deliver...