Part 1 of Essay
is one of the longest and most complex stories in the collection, and one of its finest. In addition, it brings together a number of the themes and images that have recurred throughout the book. For example, it depicts the kind of interaction between two couples that we have seen in "Neighbors" and "What's in Alaska?"; ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... He has quit his job to pursue his muse, but with little success. As the story opens he is depressed, " between stories and [feeling] despicable", when his wife calls to invite him to the office Christmas party. But he doesn't want to go, mainly because the textbook publishing company where she works is also his former place of employment. Like Marston in "What Do You Do in San Francisco?" Myers is feeling the guilt of the unemployed, which is intensified by the fact that he moves in a much more upscale s ....