Quest for a new heaven and earth--how can one find it or rediscover what was lost?

"L'important c'est la rose". Val associates this maxim with a curly-haired man who tells her that one must love someone to learn his language. He reappears as Angelo to sell Victorine a sewing case for her embroidery. She is freed from housekeeping to live with her poet once more.

The world of childhood beckons to the reader of this book. Its spontaneous joy restores new balance to all--readers and characters.

Finally, the characters' solitude melds into community spirit, with new brothers and sisters.