Summary

“To Feed the Night” by Philip Hensher begins with a young couple who have just moved in their new flat. They entertain two other couples at dinner, as they want to show their friends their new home. During dinner, the couple’s friends admire the apartment, while the husband explains the lengths needed to obtain the perfect flat. After their guests leave, the husband becomes sad because he knows the apartment is not that special.

The next day, on his way to work, the husband notices a new shop, a real estate agent’s. He is fascinated by a photograph of a property he sees in the shop’s window and decides to talk to the agent. The estate agent, Mr Bell, convinces him to look at the flat from the picture and he accepts. Impressed by what he sees, the husband goes home and convinces his wife that they should buy the new flat, although they have only recently moved into their own new, but smaller, apartment. After the couple moves to the new and bigger flat, they invite their friends yet again...