Monologue of Isabel Summary

A torrential jungle rain causes flooding. Bodies pop up out of their coffins and float about in the flooded streets. A traumatized cow appears in the courtyard, stuck in the mud and confused. Indian servants struggle to save furniture from the rising flood waters, to no avail. People lose their loved ones, then their minds. Isabel, the pregnant narrator of this apocalyptic tale, is at first pleased that the rains have brought moisture to her plants when the storm commences just after Mass on Sunday. By Tuesday, the family has lost track of time, meals, and any sense of connection to the outside world. Wednesday slips away unnoticed amid the constant drumbeat of rain. Someone carries two-day-old news that the trains have stopped because the flooding river has washed away the tracks. Splashing through the water on the veranda...