Summary: Chapter 10

Throughout this chapter, phrases are circled in red, primarily to mark errors, but sometimes for unknown reasons. 

Thomas writes from a library that stands where Anna’s father’s shed once was. Every day he writes his son a letter but has never sent any of them. 

When Anna gives Thomas the typewriter Grandma later uses for her memoir, Anna wants him to write her a letter. Thomas writes about fanciful homes the two of them will live in one day. When he gives the letter to Anna, she tells him she’s pregnant. Thomas kisses her and her stomach. He never sees her again.

When the air raid sirens go off, everyone assumes it’s a drill. Thomas sees flares drop and runs into the shelter. After the bombing, only the façade of Thomas’s house remains. Thomas decides to find Anna. His parents beg him to stay, but he refuses and grabs the doorknob to close the door. The metal burns his hands. He never sees his family again.

On his way to Anna’s, the second bombing hits. Thomas passes the zoo, where all the cages have opened. The zookeeper, whose eyes have burnt shut, needs help shooting the carnivores. Thomas doesn’t know which are the carnivores, so the keeper tells him to shoot everything. Thomas shoots all the animals. 

Thomas reaches the Loschwitz Bridge and collapses. He awakens in a hospital, where a nurse has strapped his hands down to keep him from hurting himself. When he’s released, he searches for his family, Anna, and the letter’s addressee to no avail. He finds the typewriter and carries it with him.

Previous section Chapters 8 & 9 Next page Chapters 10-12 page 2

Popular pages: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Take a Study Break