Summary

Chapter 5, “1907-1914.” In Chapter 5, "1907-1914," the narrator shifts forward in time from the previous chapters to relate the events when she, Alice, was a part of Gertrude Stein's life. When Alice first came to Paris, she lived with a friend at "a little hotel in the boulevard Saint-Michel, then we took a small apartment in the rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs". Her friend then returned to California and Alice joined Gertrude Stein at the rue de Fleurus.

By this time, Alice had spent a great deal of time at the rue de Fleurus, having helped with the proofs of Three Lives and typewritten “The Making of Americans”. Alice describes the many wives of geniuses that she spent the years in conversation with, from Madame Matisse and Marcelle Braque to Josette Gris and Eve Picasso, among many others.

The narrator switches between the past and present in this chapter...