43 pages 1 hour read

Lydia Millet

A Children's Bible

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

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Chapters 3-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 3 Summary

As the group’s boats approach the great house, Evie is relieved to be “home,” and looks forward to exploring the nearby fields and forests and swimming in the lake. However, the parents are nailing plywood over the windows, filling buckets with water, and making frantic supply runs before the storm; but none of the adults raises the possibility of leaving for higher ground. As Evie enters the parlor, her mother, crouched in front of the liquor cabinet as before an “altar,” ignores her and purchases large quantities of alcohol over the phone. Searching outside for Jack, Evie sees Kay and Amy fighting over a doll. Kay hits her twin sister over the head with a stone, knocking her out. Evie carries Amy’s “limp body” inside to the twins’ mother. The paramedics arrive and manage to revive Amy. Looking for Jack, Evie opens a pantry and finds David, the group’s tech-whiz, who guiltily tells Evie that he sabotaged the yacht’s navigation system with a virus. Now he worries that the yacht will never reach Newport. Evie finds Jack and Shel and asks the boys to return to the house, but Jack says they have “important” work to do.