Summary
The fourth section opens with a description of the cranes migrating. Mark decides to quit therapy. He goes out to grill with Tommy and Duane and tries to get answers about what happened out on the road the night of his accident. They narrowly avoid hitting a deer. He asks them questions about what happened and they become somewhat cagey. He angrily gets out of the car.
Meanwhile, Daniel and Karin continue to have difficulties in their relationship. Karin feels that Daniel has a tendency to be withholding and cold which he masks with a desire to be pleasing and kind. Karin opens up to Barbara and asks about her life. She asks her how she manages to maintain her patience and composure through difficult situations. She plans to leave Daniel, packing up her things into several suitcases and sitting on his front porch. He attempts to comfort her but she gets angry at him. She realizes that she cannot leave, as Weber is making a second visit to Kearney.
Shortly after this, Karin runs into Robert Karsh. They catch up and make plans to get lunch. She doesn't tell Daniel about the encounter. She talks to Daniel and asks if there might be work for her to do with the refuge. Daniel says yes. Weber returns to Kearney and meets up with Mark. He thinks that Mark looks relatively healed from his injuries. Mark tells Weber his elaborate theory of how everyone is keeping a secret from him and conspiring against him. He tells Weber that his friends were likely with him the night of the accident, but won't tell him what really occurred. He says that all he knows is that someone was out there, standing in the road that night and he suspects that it was part of a targeted attack on him.
Mark also talks to Weber about Karin, saying she likes to be praised. He asks Weber about his own family. Weber calls his wife and they discuss the case more. Later, Weber goes fishing with Mark. They talk more about his condition. Weber speaks with Karin and Daniel, saying that he thinks Mark should be prescribed some antipsychotics. Karin is disturbed by the suggestion, but Weber defends the idea. Weber returns to his hotel room and receives an email from Daniel expressing concern about the drug he mentioned.
Weber visits Mark once again and speaks with him and Barbara. She tells him about her divorce. She informs him that her husband left her because she didn't want children. They take a drive together out to the spot where Mark had his accident. He complains about the bad reviews of his latest book, expressing worry that he is washed up as a researcher and writer. She tells him the critics are misguided. Weber looks over at her and realizes that she provides him with a comfort he has been unable to find anywhere else.
Karin has lunch with Karsh and asks for his advice about Mark. She finds his blunt opinion refreshing, as she feels Daniel's opinions are often tied up in strict moral judgments. Karsh tells her to try and get Mark to take the medication. He also tells her that his marriage is on the rocks. She ignores this news, viewing it as something that might have impacted her in the past but now has no impact. He says goodbye to her. Later, Karin speaks with Weber on the phone. He tells her he will leave his findings with Dr. Hayes and cannot do anything else. He says that he can imagine what she is going through and she angrily says actually he has no idea.
Mark reaches out to a local crime television program in one final attempt to get answers about the accident. This plan doesn't go anywhere. Winter arrives and Karin feels stuck indoors. She sees Karsh occasionally, though nothing occurs between them. She also takes on long hours at the crane preserve. Karsh frequently criticizes Karin's liberal political views, as he is a staunch libertarian. Karin goes to a hearing about the construction of a development on the crane preserve. Both Daniel and Karsh take turns speaking, Daniel defending the preserve and Karsh supporting the development. Daniel fumes about the debate as they head home.
Analysis
Love is a major part of the book's fourth section. Karin finds different elements of her relationship with Daniel frustrating. She feels that, with all of his patience and calmness, he is at a constant distance from her. She feels uncomfortable when he meditates, as she thinks he is basically unreachable. Similarly, she struggles to argue with him, as his continual apologies only make her feel guilty and ashamed. She thinks that he thinks she is selfish and cruel but will never admit it. She finds his virtuousness somewhat maddening. After their fight at the Chinese restaurant, she gets the sense that their relationship is doomed by the same dynamics that ended it the first time. She loves Daniel but feels that his reserved manner makes it impossible to actually engage with him. She thinks that his patience, which seems like a virtue, is actually his greatest vice. She thinks that he uses it to punish the people who have hurt or wronged him, including her.
In contrast, Karsh is blunt and selfish, but Karin feels a stronger sense of physical desire for him. She also values his forthrightness with her, as he never softens his opinion to avoid hurting her feelings. She recognizes the danger in becoming involved with him again, as she would be breaking Daniel's trust and doing great harm to herself, but she cannot deny that she finds his presence comforting. She knows that she cannot rely on Karsh and that starting up a romantic relationship with him would only cause problems down the road, but she comes back to him regardless. For all of their differences, what Karsh and Daniel seem to have in common is their inability to be exactly what Karin wants. Daniel is reliable but too calm, and sometimes cold. Karsh is forthright but slippery and cruel. Karin has real feelings for both men, but cannot find a satisfactory dynamic with either of them. Her relationships present a complicated portrait of love, as she remains unhappy in both situations, despite loving both of them.
Identity is another important theme in this section. Karen calls Weber before he leaves and he provides only cursory responses to her concerns. Before they end their conversation, Weber tries to tell Karen that he understands her dilemma and she throws his words back at him, saying he couldn't possibly understand. This sends him into a spiral, as he feels that she is right. In this moment, she vocalizes her sense that he is not really the person he said he was and this resonates, as he feels the same way. Weber's identity is called into question, as he proves unable to be the warm, professional presence he purported to be in his books and in interviews. Karin is accused of being an imposter, but it is ultimately Weber who comes across as the biggest fraud in Kearney. Once again, his defenses are punctured, as she appears to have seen through his professional manner and dense jargon. She recognizes that he is not only unable to help her brother, but isn't even particularly interested in them as subjects.
Environmentalism also takes on a major role in these pages. There is a hearing held to discuss possible development on the crane habitat. Daniel speaks out against it, while Karsh and the developers offer their case for it. The community seems torn. Daniel angrily rejects the idea that even a small project could be workable. His fears are well-founded, as he recognizes that any development allowed on the habitat will result in further construction. This scene explores the tension within the community between caring for wildlife and exploiting nature for profit. It also shows how Daniel's righteous tone does not play as well, in this setting, as Karsh's smooth talking. It frames how hard Daniel's position is to hold, as he is fighting with more limited resources for a cause that promises no economic gain for creatures that have no way of defending themselves.
This part of the book delves into the characters' strained relationships. Karin and Daniel head towards a split as Mark's condition only gets worse. Weber makes his return to Kearney but once again gives no meaningful assistance to Mark. He also begins to edge towards an extramarital affair with Barbara. Everybody seeks out comfort that they are denied. As the novel moves towards its conclusion, everyone appears lost, unable to bridge the gaps of understanding between them.
