Summary

1. In first person narration, Perina describes growing up in a small rural community in the American mid-west, established near to a generally quiet creek that once a year, swelled into a powerful, unpredictable torrent. He also describes his complex relationship with his brother Owen, a poet (Kubodera describes in a footnote that the relationship ended with an act of betrayal, on Owen’s part, that Perina was never able to forgive). Perina then examines his relationship with his mother, whom he describes as delicate and distant, the subject of ridicule by both himself and his brother. Perina then describes the summer in which she died, commenting briefly on the daily activities he and Owen enjoyed at that time of year (all of which involve tormenting animals in some way). He describes initially being told that his...