Summary of pages 1-90 with details

• The novel’s Prologue opens with a quote from T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and is followed with observation from the third-person narrator indicating that “Carl Sagan said that if you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe” (1).

• In Chapter One, Daniel describes his brother Charlie’s forced withdrawal from Harvard for two months and his parents’ disappointment.

• Chapter Two: Narrated by Natasha, she describes her family’s impending deportation to Jamaica and Natasha’s desire to stop the deportation. Natasha intends to go to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Manhattan to seek help for her family, who are required to fly out for Jamaica by 10:00 p.m. that night.

• Chapter Three: Daniel’s narrative describes the reasons he hates his brother Charlie and says they have not gotten along for years.

• Chapter Four: Natasha describes her experiences checking in through security at the USCIS building, and the woman at the security counter who spends an inordinate amount of time examining Natasha’s phone case which has the album cover for Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album on it.

• Chapter Five: “Irene: A History,” a third-person narrator describes the security guard Irene’s loneliness and her need for human contact.

• Chapter Six: Daniel, describes the time when Charlie first began to hate Daniel and rejected him in front of his friends.

• Chapter Seven: “Charles Jae Won Bae: A Future History,” the third-person narrator explains that Daniel is correct about Charlie; Charlie will go on to become a politician, change his name to sound Americanized, and become estranged from his family after he has done one good thing for Daniel.

• Chapter Eight: “Family: A History of Naming,” the third-person narrator gives back-story on Daniel’s family. Daniel’s parents met in South Korea, moved to America, and gave their children a combination of American and Korean names.

• Chapter Nine: Natasha, describes her arriving late for her meeting with Karen Whitney due to her delay at security. Natasha becomes upset when the receptionist refuses her but another USCIS agent agrees to speak with Natasha. The agent Lester Barnes does not give Natasha much hope for stopping the deportation but attempts to console her by describing a vacation he took to the country. Natasha lashes back at Barnes, accusing him of having no concept of Jamaica because he, like most tourists, never leave the resort.

• Chapter Ten: “Irie: An Etymological History,” describes the concept of the word “irie” in Jamaica.

• Chapter Eleven: Daniel’s describes the role of his overbearing and overly ambitious parents as they attempt to push both of their sons into Ivy League colleges and high-paying careers.

• Chapter Twelve: “Irene: A Tentative History,” the narrator describes Irene listening to the album “Nevermind” and planning on committing suicide.