The narrative picks up at a point late in King David’s reign, when his grown son Absalom has begun to attract the attention of the people. Two characters—an unnamed child and adult—talk to one another as they observe Absalom passing by in his chariot. The handsome young prince is called “David” by the crowd, and when the child wonders why, the adult responds that Absalom reminds many people of David when he was young. This leads the child to think about the way David was treated when he was that age: “Saul was very hard on David, was he not? […] Is King David going to treat Absalom the same way Saul treated David?” (54). This question is left largely unanswered, and the two unnamed characters depart the scene.

Chapter 20 describes the assessment of Absalom in the eyes of his fellow Israelites and their growing appreciation of him: “It warmed your heart to know a man who saw things so clearly. Discerning. Yes, that was the word that best described Absalom—discerning” (57). Absalom is hard at work as a populist, acting in his princely role as a listening ear and a sympathetic