Summary

In Part IV, "A Father Without a Home," on the way to China, Alexandra remembers J saying if they broke up "he would join the military" (250). On the plane, people address her in Mandarin. She is embarrassed she does not remember the language. When she first sees her father, he looks both familiar and unfamiliar.

Alexandra observes her father's space and routines. He barely eats, subsisting mostly on alcohol. He does not have Wi-Fi. She is restless without any connection to "the outside" (255). At a coffee shop, she checks her email, finding messages from J.

Alexandra reads more about Yamei Kin and her husband. Another day she researches the history of "the fisher girl," whose statue she saw in town (259).

Every day she and her dad walk from place to place. One night, Alexandra...