Chapter 2 Summary

Gustad returns from Crawford Market with a live chicken. His wife is frosty and determined not to cooperate in fattening it to achieve greater flavor. Fresh chickens remind Gustad of his grandmother and a childhood filled with music and celebration. He has braved the hated marketplace to make special the celebration of Roshan's birthday and Sohrab's admittance to IIT. Gustad plans to invite his work friend Dinshawji and perhaps others. The extra expense will be worth it.

Although Gustad's father had loved bartering with shopkeepers, Gustad himself finds Crawford Market an intimidating den of thieves. He worries about riding the bus home with dripping basket of meat amidst glaring vegetarian passengers. Everything about the market is menacing filthy, menacing, and gory. Gustad has no idea how to select a good chicken, but remembers everything about beef. In the old days, friend Malcolm, a...