The Librarian of Burned Books: A Novel

Viv takes a day off and is sitting in a pizza parlor, where she begins talking to a young man with a Georgia accent; she begins referring to him in her mind as “Georgia.” He tells Viv he’s joining the army the next day, and Viv invites him to explore the city with her.

They enjoy walking through the park and sharing a cake at a bakery, and Georgia admits to Viv that he has difficulty reading. He worries that he won’t be able to read his mother’s letters when he’s away. Viv encourages him to ask for help from the other soldiers. They spend the evening together and go dancing, and Viv allows the young man to kiss her.

Diedrich comments that Althea has become withdrawn. Althea has begun to understand that Diedrich is at his most concerned and romantic when her doubts begin to surface. The party is celebrating because of Hitler’s continued success in politics, led in part by the fire at the Reichstag, which most believe was begun by communist enemies. Althea privately wonders if the Nazis started the fire themselves.

Althea becomes overwhelmed and excuses herself, leaving the group and going to see Deveraux.