Chapter 9 Summary

Boris writes a letter to Henry that reflects his impression of the man. Boris does not practice simple courtesies such as beginning the letter with a greeting. Instead he immediately expounds on how he is dying and wants to commit suicide. Henry thinks that Boris steals his ideas from Cronstadt. Meanwhile, Boris wants Henry to be alive, but at the same time he shows no interest in Henry's life. Boris lives in the abstract, which Henry finds to be ghoulish. Henry speculates that Jewish men are attracted to his gentile ways. This thought brings back memories of Tania and how she encourages him to seek work in Russia. He and Tania frequent the better bars in Paris and become regular lovers. This results in Henry coming in drunk to work fairly often, and he is almost fired due to his mistakes with proofreading...