The Sausage, Guardian Angel, The Photo Summary and Analysis

A feeding test showed that Jean will need to be fed through a tube in his stomach. Jean uses his memory to feed himself a tantalizing buffet. A friend sends a recipe for sausage for Jean to use in his imaginary cooking.

Jean's speech therapist, Sandrine, established his blinking communication code. Some staff makes every attempt to decipher his blinks and the other makes a quick exit, pretending not to notice him. Speech therapy is an arduous and exhausting task; Jean finally says the entire alphabet. Sandrine calls his daughter and father and lets Jean hear their "news" regularly. Despite being in his nineties, Jean's father has retained all of his splendor. His father's apartment is cluttered with old memories.

These three chapters group nicely together because they all have a...