Good Morning, Midnight

Part 3 begins in The Hague, as Sasha chronicles her time at the home of a Dutch couple named Hans and Tonny Steen. Sasha describes her room at the Steens’ as crowded, a place where “you couldn’t think, you couldn’t make plans” and “nothing in that room was ever clean; nothing was ever dirty, either” (113). Sasha portrays Tonny as “gentle” and Hans as man with “a blustering look” (114). Sasha has ventured to the Netherlands with Enno, even though neither has money: “We both thought the other had money” (114). The war has ended, and a spirit of hope and freedom permeates as Sasha avoids returning to London. Sasha unveils more of Enno’s backstory: A former poet songwriter, Enno worked as a journalist during the war. She and Enno met in London, where “he seemed very prosperous” (114). Despite her reservations, Sasha marries Enno in The Hague.

Sasha travels to Amsterdam with Enno shortly after their wedding. They explore Amsterdam, and Sasha feels “everything is smooth, soft and tender” (117). Eager to return to Paris, Sasha and Enno sell their clothing to buy tickets to Brussels, Belgium.

Sasha and Enno arrive in Brussels. In contrast to the gentleness of Amsterdam, the room in Brussels is “a long, narrow room with a long, narrow window and the bell of the cinema next door, sharp and meaningless” (118).