21st Century Literature discussion

In this chapter, Trotsky and his retinue arrive in the Rivera household. He has an impact on everyone there, taking Harrison on as a typist and bringing along Van, who Harrison falls in love with. He also has an affair with Frida, and appears in a public hearing to repudiate the claims made against him by Stalin, which he wins.

This chapter and the preceding ones twirl themselves tightly around real historical events concerning Communism. How did they sit with your perceptions of the history of Communism?

Many relationships within the household are made and altered in this chapter, bringing to mind Harrison's previous claims that his life is like a novel. Which relationships within the house strike you most?

This chapter shows the life of what is on the page as a document read by Frida and not just a story read by the reader. What are your thoughts on this device and its effects?