THE SKIN BAG

Summary

Roxanna, in spite of having goats in her bathroom, sets a pleasant and cultivated table for the Land family. She makes Dad lean back in his chair and smile over and over again while Swede looks often out the window, growing the snowstorm in her mind so that they can be snowed in at Roxanna's house. They learn a great deal about living independently from Roxanna who, like them, had grown up motherless and by necessity, learned from her father the principles of business. Her father had owned the local movie theater and she had met some celebrities there, such as Dalton Trumbo, whose name meant nothing to Reuben and Swede until they learned he had written Reuben's favorite movie, Spartacus. To Dad - so long without his wife - the particular formula of meal, woman, and conversation must have seemed like a favorite hymn remembered. (pg. 182) This is the first time that Reuben really thinks about his father being alone since their mother left........

Notes

Although the title of this chapter refers to Reuben's horrible dream with its terrible asthma attack, for the most part, it is an......

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