Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (paragraph 4)

The book the boys earn by a man named Balzac teaches them of love, passion and desire. All the things that they had never before experienced. The book is like an opening into a far off world, it is an escape from their harsh lives. Even though the narrator had never been to France where the story takes place, he is still able to relate to the feelings and emotions of the characters in the story. The narrator loves the words of the story so much that he copies them into his coat. Luo goes to tell the story to the seamstress and she is so inspired by the story that she and Luo make love for the first time. The boys eventually give the book back to Four Eyes regretfully. Luo wishes that he could have read the story to the Seamstress to make her more modern and more cultured. I think he wants her to experience as much culture as he has while he was living in the city. The next time the boys go to visit Four Eyes he tells them that he had tried to get the old miller who lived up on the mountain to sing him some folk songs for a writer who offered him a job in the city. He failed his attempt and the boys see it as an opportunity to try to get a hold of another book. The boy's attempts to get another book seems to be turning into some sort of game, they are willing to do almost anything to get a hold of the books. The narrator and Luo say that they will go see the old miller and get the songs if Four Eyes promises to give them another book.