Summary

In this chapter the reader sees Martin still bitter about his father's early exit from his life. He opens up the chapter stating that he knows very little about his father and that he has virtually no memory of anything regarding him. F, in this chapter, stands for 'failure' and 'father' as these two terms seem to underscore all of the events.

The first event is Martin recalling his own family history as he recounts exactly what he does know about his father, and his father's father, who fought in World War I. Martin's grandfather had been an actor and had been frustrated trying to regain his earlier acclaim when he returned from the war. Martin's great-grandfather had been a doctor, having gone into medicine solely because his father had been a doctor and he inherited the family business.

Martin goes on to...