The music of chance door Paul Auster

Chapter 4

East-wing - wing of the house that houses the hobby-rooms. Stone acts like he’s the god of the city of the world. It’s kind of an obsession. Flower collects all kinds of stuff of famous people like earrings, pencils that have been used by some famous persons, half-smokd cigars, sweatshirts, spectacles, etc. There were also first editions of old books, history books and cigars.

Jack and Jim enter the house. They are going to a room where flower and stone are already waiting. They chat a little and they get a kind of tour through the house. Then they are going to have dinner together, but it’s not normal. They eat hamburgers and drink coke. Flower eats the half hamburger that Stone leaves on his plate.

Then they’re going to play the game. All the money is going into a safe. It’s traded for chips. In the beginning, everything seems to be going well. Pozzi is winning a lot of chips. After several hours, Nashe has to go to the toilet, and he leaves the room. He goes to the toilet, but after that, he feels the impulse to go to the hobby rooms of flower and stone. He takes another look at the city of the world, and he steals two wooden dolls which represent flower and stone.

When he returns to the room, Jack is loosing the game. He’s lost several games already and he’s runing out of chips. He’s very nervous and blames Nashe because he left the room. Nashe sees what’s happening and decides to give Jim an extra transfusion by giving hem the other 3000 dollars that he has left. But still it isn’t helping much. In the very end of the game, Jim offers his car to flower and stone, in change of 10.000 dollar. They come to an agreement for 5000 dollar. Nashe had thought this would least for another two or three hours, but the game became really furious and the pot was huge. Flower withdrew himself from the game. Stone made Jim loose the game with a ‘ full house’. Nashe decides he wants to win the car back, so they pull a card. If Jim and Jack have the highest number, they get their car back. If Stone has the highest number, they owe him another 5000 dollar, which makes it 10.000 all together.

Jim and Jack loose again, and their debt is 10.000 dollar. Flower and stone are talking about what to do. Stone comes with the idea to have them built the wall. There are 10.000 stones somewhere in the backyard. They come from an castle in ireland. Flower and stone were there on a holiday, and when they saw the castle, they decided to buy it. All the stones of the castle were shipped to the States. Nashe and Jack have to built a wall from it.

Flower and Stone and Jack and Jim come to an agreement. They will work 50 days for flower and stone. They will earn 10 dollars per hour each and they are allowed to live in an old trailer. They will also get working clothes and equipment.

Murks comes every day to watch over them and to tell them what to do. They start in the morning, at 7 o’clock and they finish off each day at 6 o’clock in the evening. In the afternoon they have a one hour break. Everything seems to be going well, but a lot slower than expected. Jack isn’t capable to do so much work, so Nashe is working extra hard to make sure that Jack is doing well. Jack and Jim are not allowed to use the jeep to move the stones. They have to use a little red wagon.

During the 50 days, Jack gets more and more upset. He’s sure Flower and Stone cheated during the game. At one point, he’s drunk and he goes to the house to have a fight. Luckily enough, they aren’t at home, but Jack throws a stone and breaks a window. Later on, Jim burns the two wooden dolls in front of Jacks face, to show how small and little Flower and stone are.

After 50 days, they want to celebrate their freedom with a kind of party. They order a lot of food, which Murks will get for them. Jack also wants to invite a girl, so he asks Murks for a hooker. The food arrives and so does the girl, and the evening is really nice. In the night, Tiffany sleeps wih Jack and Jim is alone in his room.

The next morning, Murks comes to Nashe with a bill for all the food, drinks, cigarettes, and even for the window. It’s over 3000 dollars, and they also have to pay that by working on the wall. Nashe thing’s it’s not fare to Pozzy, and he helps him to escape. The next morning, when Nashe wants to get back to work, Pozzi is lying in the grass. He got beaten up (again). When Murks comes, he says Pozzi has to go to the hospital. Murks goes back to get the jeep, and returns with his son in law, Floyd. They put Pozzi in the back of the jeep. Nashe wants to come along, but Floyd kicks him in his stomach so he can’t climb in the jeep.

Nashe is working on the wall while Jack is in the hospital. At a certain day, Murks tells him that Jack has escaped from the hospital. At the day the dept is paid off, Murks asks nashe if he wants to come along to the pub to have a drink. He doesn’t want to, but finally he’s convinced and they drive off in the red Saab, which now belongs to Murks. It’s not that bad as he thought.

Nashe plays some games of pool with floyd. Floyd looses 5 times, so he owes Nashe 50 dollars. He refuses to accept the money, but askes Floyd for a favour. He would like to drive the Saab back to the house.

Nashe plays some games of pool with floyd. Floyd looses 5 times, so he owes Nashe 50 dollars. He refuses to accept the money, but askes Floyd for a favour. He would like to drive the Saab back to the house.

On their way back, they get involved in a car accident and they are all dead (probably).