82.24

“From ‘A Work in Progress.’ ” Paris Review, no. 86 (winter), 10-14. First advance excerpt from Ancient Evenings (83.18), taken, according to a note, from the installment forthcoming in Playboy, although the selection does not appear in either Playboy excerpt (83.17 and 83.28). An “Author’s Note” explains the seven parts of the soul delineated by the ancient Egyptians, an explanation necessary to follow the description of the embalming process (from the point of view of the embalmee). Rpt: Appearing several months before the novel, this excerpt is taken from chapter 5 of book I, “The Book of One Man Dead.”