Summary

Part 1 opens with Chapter 1, set in October of 1960. Jennifer Stirling is in the hospital. Her head hurts terribly, and she cannot hold onto coherent thoughts. She is not sure why she is in the hospital. Jennifer listens to the chattering of nurses and begins to associate the color blue with their movements, though she cannot focus on any one of them. She is happy when she comes up with the word “grapes” because it is the first word she can retain. She tries to speak, and they believe she wants her husband. She does not recognize the man who steps forward. She tries to make sense of what she sees and hears. Her husband comes in the evenings, dressed in immaculate suits. He talks to her in a “perfunctory” manner but sometimes just reads the newspaper. Her mother visits with small gifts, as...