Summary

Part I of the novel opens with a brief narrative about a father and his six-year-old son. The father was born in Calcutta, India, but now lives in the United States and works as an academic. The son was born in the United States. The father has brought his son on a tourism trip to India, and they are viewing the historical sights of the city of Agra. One day during their trip, they witness a construction worker accidentally fall to his death. They do not discuss it, and the father hopes that the son did not process the reality of what happened. The man attempts to interest the boy in the various historical buildings by telling him interesting stories about them, but the boy does not seem very interested. The father feels somewhat uneasy, as he has become used to the relative politeness...