56 pages • 1 hour read
From Sand and Ash
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Interlude 3-Chapter 10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of religious discrimination, death by suicide, graphic violence, and death.
Interlude 3 Summary: “1940”
It is June of 1940, and Eva chronicles the beginning of the war in her journal, lamenting how Italy is now aligned with Germany as it invades other countries, “rolling over them without mercy” (91). Jewish people aren’t allowed to fight, so Eva feels helpless. Angelo is now an ordained priest and has severed contact with Eva.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Shiva”
Italian immigration officers come to arrest Eva’s Uncle Felix, whose Italian citizenship has been revoked. Felix calmly accepts their arrival and asks to pack a few personal belongings. While he is packing, Camillo and Eva question the officers about Felix’s fate. They assure them he will remain interned in Italy and not be harmed. A gunshot rings out from upstairs. The officer goes to investigate and finds that Felix has died by suicide.
Angelo presides over Felix’s funeral. He hasn’t seen Eva since his ordination, which she and the family attended. After the funeral, Eva and Angelo sit together, and she explains to him the symbolism of shivah, or the seven-day Jewish mourning period. Mourners cover the mirrors, eat certain foods, sit low to the ground to be closer to the deceased, and wear pieces of the deceased’s torn clothing pinned to theirs.
