Summary

Back in his apartment, Zuckerman calls his phone answering service and asks about missed calls. The woman on the other ends said that he received calls from a man asking Zuckerman to appear in a television commercial, as well as a reporter asking for an interview. Zuckerman then thinks about Laura, his third wife, whom he had divorced several months ago, shortly before the publication of “Carnovsky.” After the divorce, he boxed up his large book collection with his other belongings and moved to his new apartment, where he still had not yet unpacked his books. Laura is an activist who is currently working against the government’s military draft. The love had gradually faded from their marriage, but after their separation, Zuckerman found—and still finds—that he wished to rekindle his relationship with her. Zuckerman then asks the woman on the...