Book Three, Chapter 9, Part of the Parts Summary

Chapter 9 introduces the reader to Judge Solomon Soderberg, husband of Claire, who was introduced in chapter 2. Chapter 9 begins with Solomon thinking that the tightrope walker incident brought a sort of sense to all of the ordinary days in New York. He thinks about how New York only keeps moving forward because it doesn't care about what's left in the past. He thinks about how the walker made himself into a temporary monument- the only type of monument that New York has- the type of monument that makes everything think, "Can you believe it?"

As Solomon enters the courthouse to begin his work day, he thinks about how far he has come in his career and how much nicer his office is now than when he first became a judge. As he...