Summary

Chapters 1 through 5 – The day after burying the dead bird, Ari comes down with a severe fever that sends him to bed and gives him vivid, intensely emotional dreams in which he keeps reaching for his father, for his imprisoned brother, and for Dante. He occasionally wakes to find his father holding him, at one point confessing that he too has bad dreams. This glimpse of his father’s inner life makes Ari strangely happy. He also dreams about millions of sparrows falling from the sky, an image that recurs to him when Dante comes for a visit and reads him some of his poetry. At the same time, Ari reveals he’s having bad dreams, but refuses to tell Dante what they’re about. On that same visit, Dante (who admits that he plans to become an artist...