Summary

Chapter 9. In the aftermath of the second part of the broadcast, Samuel says, he devoted a great deal of time and energy to trying to find out how far away he had to be from Esther in order to remain healthy. He also describes the symptoms associated with the illness, the origins of which were, he adds, constantly being debated. Those symptoms included “…facial smallness, lethargy, a hardening under the tongue that defeated attempts at speech” (52). Even as he went out, he says, Claire took refuge in a small room of the house that had originally been set aside for the making of crafts.

Chapter 10. Samuel describes how, on one of his night-time excursions, he encountered Murphy, the red-haired man he saw earlier (Part 1, Chapter 5). As they spoke, Samuel says, he recalled the teachings of Rabbi Burke to keep the self as...