Chapter 1 Summary

Michael K was born with a "hare lip" that repulsed his mother right from the beginning. The pink line ensured that his mouth would never close completely. He had trouble feeding from both her breast and a bottle, which frustrated her even more. The only thing that worked was feeding him from a spoon. The midwife had said that the lip would close over time, but it didn't. Anna K (his mother) took Michael K to work with her and isolated him from the other children. She polished floors while he sat in silence. Michael was not judged smart enough to attend regular school so he was sent to a special state institution, Huis Norenius. There, Michael K not only learned reading and writing; but he also did manual labor such as sweeping, scrubbing, and digging.

"K" left school when he was fifteen...