Summary

Antietam – In the weeks after Julia’s discovery of the phone, she and Jacob go through a complex series of negotiations and avoidances. Narration describes a moment on Jacob’s first trip to Israel – when he and his family went into a sacred space, the Dome of the Rock, that was reportedly the site of, among other things, Abraham’s preparations to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Damascus – On “the day before the beginning of the destruction of Israel” (135), all the members of the family go in separate directions. Throughout complicated, rapid fire dialogue (within which there is a great deal of unspoken tension between Jacob and Julia), Julia and Sam leave for the school trip (which Julia is co-chaperoning with Mark); Jacob and Max take Argus to the vet; and Benjy goes with Irv and Deborah.

The Side that Faces Away – Jacob...