Aftertaste Chapter 38: The Third Death – Summary & Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary (Chronological)
After surviving the events at Brink, the narrator discovers that the Hunger has not left her. She tries to satisfy it through bingeing—video games, novels, music, art, running, alcohol, and food—but nothing works for more than a short time. Over a year, she realizes the Hunger is a connection to her sister Everleigh and to Death. Touching Ev’s belongings and seeking dangerous situations quiet the cravings. Convinced that the Hunger wants her to find Everleigh in the afterlife, the narrator decides to attempt a controlled death to reunite with her sister and cure them both. She researches near-death experiences, attends survivor conventions, and learns various methods. Choosing a straightforward approach, she cuts her wrists deeply and calls 911, hoping to briefly cross over. In the afterlife Food Hall, she roams calling Ev’s name, but Everleigh never appears. The attempt nearly kills her permanently, and when she returns, the Hunger is worse—insatiable, constant, and immune to previous relief. Frightened and humbled, she vows to never interfere with the afterlife again. The chapter ends with her meeting Stan at a party.
Key Events
- The narrator struggles with the Hunger for over a year after Brink, trying many bingeing activities without lasting relief.
- She discovers that touching Everleigh’s belongings and flirting with death temporarily still the Hunger.
- She concludes the Hunger is a shared sickness connecting her to Ev and the afterlife.
- She researches near-death experiences and decides to attempt a controlled suicide to reach her sister.
- She cuts her wrists and calls 911, entering the afterlife Food Hall but failing to find Everleigh.
- The Hunger becomes far worse after her return, leaving her scared and lonely.
- She vows to stop trying to manipulate death and to live with the Hunger.
- At a party, she meets Stan, marking a new direction.
Character Development
The narrator’s arc in this chapter moves from desperate longing to bitter acceptance. Initially driven by the hope of reuniting with Everleigh and curing the Hunger, she grows reckless and overconfident. Her suicide attempt—unlike the accidental overdose in Chapter 1 or the Brink ordeal—is deliberate and calculated, showing how the Hunger has warped her judgment. When the plan fails and the Hunger intensifies, she hits a low point. The realization that she nearly died for nothing forces her to confront her own mortality and the limits of control. By the end, she resolves to live her life as best she can, a quieter but more grounded version of herself. Her encounter with Stan hints at a potential new relationship, though the chapter does not reveal its nature.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
The Hunger as connection. The Hunger is not merely a craving; it is a tangible link between the narrator and Everleigh. Touching Ev’s objects or courting death provides temporary relief, suggesting that the Hunger feeds on intimacy with loss.
Sisterhood and sickness. The narrator describes the Hunger as a “sisterhood of empty stomachs” and a “sickness that we shared.” This frames grief as a physical, transmissible condition that binds the living to the dead.
The illusion of control. The narrator’s attempt to orchestrate a safe death fails dramatically, underscoring that death cannot be domesticated. Her careful planning—selecting a method, timing a 911 call—does not protect her from the unintended consequences.
The afterlife as a food hall. The recurring motif of the Food Hall represents a liminal space where the narrator expects to find resolution but finds only emptiness.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 38 acts as a critical turning point. It concludes the narrator’s arc of using death as a tool and sets up the decision to live with the Hunger rather than try to defeat it. The failure of the third death deepens the story’s central mystery about what the Hunger actually is and why the afterlife remains inaccessible. The final line introduces Stan, whose importance will unfold in subsequent chapters. This chapter also provides the clearest explanation yet of the Hunger’s nature—a shared sickness rather than a curse or punishment.
Study Questions & Answers
1. Why does the narrator choose a wrist-cutting method for her third death?
She seeks a method she can control: deep cuts combined with a timed 911 call to bring her back before it’s too late. Among the near-death techniques she researches, this one requires no special equipment or expertise, making it seem straightforward.
2. What changes in the Hunger after the failed attempt?
The Hunger becomes “insatiable” and “constant.” Previously, it could be temporarily quieted by Ev’s belongings or risky behavior. After the suicide attempt, even those former remedies stop working, leaving the narrator in a state of unrelenting ache.
3. How does the narrator’s attitude toward life shift by the end of the chapter?
She moves from hubris—believing she can manipulate death—to humility. Terrified by how close she came to dying for nothing, she swears off interfering with the afterlife and commits to living her life as best she can, even with the Hunger.