Summary

Part Three begins with the narrator making breakfast. In the present tense, the narrator describes his daily routine since Penny’s death. Nigel still uses skin creams, and despite Penny’s wishes, the narrator has continued plans for treatment, which now involves daily chemical injections and pills. At work, Dinah reveals her latest facial reconstruction which the narrator says makes her look “still Vietnamese but whiter” (211). She tells the narrator she is engaged to a white colleague and explains the surgeries as a way for her to avoid becoming a stereotype.

Once again in the past tense, the narrator and Nigel went grocery shopping where they bumped into Eckstein. While discussing recent events involving ADZE and the continued protests around the city, the narrator suggested the hospital host a festival for Tiko residents. Seizing an opportunity to gain positive coverage during the City...