Summary

In Part 5, “The Red and the Black,” Sadie reads Bruno’s response to the Moulinards’ question “about the Resistance and the French Communist Party” (187). He tells them about “his wartime childhood,” describing his experiences throughout the 1940s (187). Near the start of the war, Bruno was separated from his family and sent to live with strangers. He later learned he was part Jewish and his family was killed during the war. Around the time they died, Bruno and his friends found a dead Nazi in the hills. Bruno took the dead soldier’s helmet and donned it. He soon discovered he had lice. His caretaker put kerosene on his scalp to kill the lice, resulting in Bruno’s ocular issues to this day. In the email, he says the lice are a metaphor “for the transmigration of life” (193).

Pascal shows Sadie around the commune. Le...