Book 3, Chapter 13 Summary

Salim has always thought of his friend, Mahesh, as half a man. He is devoted to his wife and sees himself through Shoba's eyes. Now he is doing the same thing with Yvette. Yvette has opened up worlds to him, but narrowed things as well. Now, he looks at everything with an eye toward whether it affects him and Yvette.

Noiman, a successful Greek businessman, sells out and moves to Australia. This signals the end of the town's boom. Local businessmen try to kid themselves by talking about how their town is better than anywhere else. Salim tries to laugh about this with Mahesh, but Mahesh, too, is seriously touting the quality of life. Salim thinks Mahesh seems full of himself.

Nazruddin sends Salim a letter telling him that things are not going well in Uganda. The country is just too...