Summary

After Jacob’s death, István moves through a period of suspended grief. His mother gains access to the paperwork for the family trust and spends evenings at the table studying how to increase its income for Helen’s stepson, Thomas. When she explains that Thomas will inherit everything outright soon, István asks if there is any way to prevent it, and she answers, “Unless he dies” (279). She also begins attending a small Baptist church in Stevenage. One Sunday she persuades István to come with her. He watches the modest congregation sing and pray and understands why the certainty on display might comfort his mother. For a few weeks he returns, trying to participate in that sense of meaning.

István soon realizes that the church cannot give him what he wants. He longs to accept the idea that Jacob still...