Summary

Chapter 1 is set in the present, August 1, in the Back Woods. It is 6:30 a.m. Eleanor “Elle” swims in her family’s pond. She thinks about the night before and the moment when she realized she was finally going to have sex with Jonas. He had read Anna’s poem so beautifully when Peter refused to read it. She had gone outside in anticipation and had not been surprised when Jonas followed her and pushed her up against the side of the house.

In December 1966 Elle is three months old. Doctors remove a tumor that has grown around her intestines. The surgeon cuts off an ovary while he is doing the surgery.

In 1969, Elle, 3, is waiting for her father, excited to see him because it has been weeks. He is divorcing her mother

In the present, it is 8:30 a.m. Elle and...