Summary

Chapters 25 and 27 are centered on Robert. After the fight with Catherine the night before, Robert had driven a few blocks away with a bottle of whiskey and slept in his car. He wakes up somewhere between hungover and still intoxicated. He decides he needs to find a quiet place he can sit and read The Perfect Stranger. He hops on the bus and silently observes the people around him, making judgements about their lives based on their appearance. Robert finds an open café, orders tea and toast, and begins to read the book. He cannot resist reading the final line of the book first which Robert takes as a threat against Catherine, but he feels no need to protect her. The beginning of the book finds John (the stand-in for Jonathan) and his girlfriend Sarah on a backpacking trip throughout Europe. Sarah receives...