Four Courners of the Sky: Chapters 10-14

This is installment 3 of my Big Library Reading diary, covering chapters 10-14.

Putting tape on windows does NOT do any good if in a storm, OK?

These 5 chapters were a bit of a slog for me. I realized that I consistently have trouble with time shifting. The cognitive load of keeping multiple timelines straight distracts me from enjoying the narrative. And it makes me think: "They're STILL eating sushi?"

Just to confirm that I'm not imagining this, I'm going to list all the timelines in these 5 chapters:

1. Chapter 10  Brad is calling from Charleston: "the present":.
2. Chapter 10 Annie's career at the Naval Academy: 5 years ago?
3. Chapter 10-11 Annie's wedding: 3 years ago?
4. Chapter 11 in Emerald: a few months after the wedding.
5. Chapter 11 Annie leaves Brad: a year later?
6. Chapter 11 Annie's neighbor Trevor: a few more months later, maybe one year ago?
7. Chapter 11 Brad's calling again: the present.
8. Chapter 12 Is Annie in Emerald or is she on an aircraft carrier?: 2weeks after leaving Brad
9. Chapter 12 On the phone with Georgette: sometime later.
10. Chapter 12 Emerald: a bleak March weekend. I need the Sam-Brad relationship explained.
11. Chapter 12-13-14 after a review of Annapolis, we're back to the present.
12. Chapter 14 flashbacks to Annie's 3rd, 5th and 7th birthdays.

Maybe it was the twister.

Rafael Rook is a fantastical character. I'm pretty sure nothing he says turns out to be true. But I think we're supposed to pay attention: El camino no está en el cielo. El camino está en el corazón. (The road is not in the sky. The road is in the heart)

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