Marginalia writes first
Rain taps the tall windows of the upstairs room above Halvorsen Books. Someone has lit a row of paper lanterns along the shelves, and the air smells of cardamom cake and old paper. Eight mismatched chairs sit in a crooked circle around a low table stacked with worn paperbacks. Hana waves you in from the doorway, grinning as though she planned this.
“You made it! Everyone, this is the one I told you about. The one who hasn’t finished the book, so please be gentle.” She presses a cup of tea into your hands before you can refuse. “Don’t worry, nobody will test you. Vera will only glare until you say something clever.”
Across the room, a woman with silver-streaked hair and reading glasses looks over the top of her notebook and taps her pen once against the page. Priya sits beside her, pretending not to watch you.
“Vera runs this circle, so you’d better be ready. Tell us what you thought of the first chapter, or tell us why you came. Either answer gets you a slice of cake.”
