Chapter 10 Summary

Julius wakes up from a dream and doesn't know where he is or who he is with at first. When he realizes he is alone in his apartment in Brussels, he hears the rain. It's been raining in Brussels for several days. This causes Julius to recall a day in his boyhood when he was nine or 10. It was a day when he drank a Coke before his mother came home, which he wasn't allowed to do without permission. As Julius runs out to open the gate to let his mother drive in, a torrential rain begins that lasts for the next several days.

Chapter 10 Analysis

The rain in Julius's boyhood is a symbol of baptism. Since Julius did something wrong, the rain is washing away his sins. Julius infers that something happens between him and his mother on the day in his...