Chapters 46-50 Summary

In Chapter 46, Trout's actions after the timequake are described. He finds the smoke alarm and sees a lit cigar smoldering in an ash tray. He crushes it out. Then Trout takes a picture off the wall with the intention of smashing the smoke alarm with it, but the alarm stops on its own. He replaces the picture and makes sure it is straight. In Chapter 47, the author tells of his uncle's love of books and how he would give the author the best written. The author describes his relationship to books when he says, "But by accident, not by cunning calculation, books, because of their weight and texture, and because of their sweetly token resistance to manipulation, involve our hands and eyes, and then our minds and souls, in a spiritual adventure I would be very sorry for my grandchildren not...