The Echo Maker

Part 3 opens with a collection of myths about cranes as the birds of Heaven with the power to impart good fortune.

After Weber’s departure, Karin reflects that he was nothing like the warm, compassionate person he appeared to be in his books. Three weeks later, Karin, Mark, and Barbara watch a televised reading from Weber’s latest book. They think he looks like someone playing the role of himself. He is dressed differently and talks differently. Mark is outraged and declares that the man on the television isn’t really Weber. He suspects Karin has something to do with it. Only Barbara can soothe him.

Weber tells stories about subjects he has interviewed and the way they create realities that don’t exist. Afterward, a member of the audience asks if the stories he tells about his subjects violate their privacy. He replies that he always conforms to standard practices. He disguises names and sometimes combines multiple subjects into one sample case.

Weber thinks of Mark as “the Nebraska Capgras sufferer” (189). As with all his other subjects, he made a connection, then lost interest. He still struggles to understand the split between the mind and brain, but he feels sure that science will close that gap soon.