Chapters 1-5 Summary

This novel is a collection of parables that can be read as a sequel to the author's novel, Stones from the River.

White Lilacs: The narrator's mother is entering her tenth month of pregnancy when she realizes that she can no longer feel the baby moving. The mother goes to the convent nearby where she intends to give birth under the care of the nuns there and asks if she should be concerned. The nun reassures her that the baby is simply resting up for the birth. For three days the mother worries, but trusts the nuns. When she goes into labor early on the third day, the mother quickly returns to the convent where she is forced to wait for the nuns to finish their morning worship. When the nun examines her, she tells the young mother that her baby...