Chapter summaries Any Way the Wind Blows Rainbow Rowell

Chapter 87 Summary and 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

Chapter 87 is a raw, first-person internal monologue from Simon Snow. Simon mentally rejects a revelation that has just been thrust upon him: the Mage found him in a care home, claimed to have followed Simon’s magic (a lie, because Simon had no magic at that time), and used him as part of a larger plot. Simon pieces together that the Mage lied repeatedly—about the Mage’s own past, about love, about a yellow-haired girl who disappeared. The chapter builds to Simon’s horrified realization that he might be Lady Salisbury’s child and therefore Lucy’s child and therefore the Mage’s child. He cannot accept this, because that would mean he is the son of the man he killed. The chapter ends with Simon repeating the fact that he killed the Mage, unable to complete the thought of what that lineage would mean.

Key Events

  1. Simon mentally denies the truth about the Mage finding him in care.
  2. He recalls that the Mage lied about following Simon’s magic.
  3. Simon recognizes that the Mage used him as a vessel in a plot.
  4. He connects the Mage’s lies to the Mage’s own past (a name, a yellow-haired girl who vanished).
  5. Simon realizes he might be Lady Salisbury’s child, Lucy’s child, and the Mage’s child.
  6. He rejects that identity outright, because it would mean he is the son of the man he killed.
  7. The chapter ends with Simon fixating on the fact that he killed the Mage.

Character Development

  • Simon Snow: This chapter captures Simon in a state of acute psychological denial. His voice is fragmented, repetitive, and raw. The identity crisis he faced earlier now deepens into a double trauma: not only is he the killer of the Mage, but he may be the Mage’s offspring. Simon’s previous anger and guilt now mix with a horrifying sense of being used from the very beginning.
  • The Mage (off-screen): Though dead, the Mage’s shadow looms larger than ever. Simon’s internal unpacking reveals the full extent of the Mage’s manipulation—finding Simon in care, lying about his magic, and using him as a pawn.
  • Lady Salisbury / Lucy: These characters are now directly tied to Simon’s origins, though the chapter stops short of confirming anything. Their presence in Simon’s denial underscores how the truth, if accepted, would rewrite his entire identity.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Lies and Deception: The chapter is built around the Mage’s foundational lie—that he found Simon because of his magic. This lie is the origin of Simon’s entire life as the Chosen One. The repetition of “He lied to me” drives home how trust was weaponized.
  • Identity as Trauma: Simon’s denial (“No. No.”) and his refusal to finish the thought (“I can’t be—”) show that identity itself has become unbearable. The possibility of being the Mage’s son forces Simon to confront that his whole story may be a fabrication.
  • Violence and Consequence: Simon killed the Mage, and that act now echoes through his origins. The chapter suggests that killing the Mage was not just a climax but a terrible paradox: Simon destroyed the man who might have been his father.
  • Fragmented Narrative: The use of short, staccato lines—often single words or broken phrases—mirrors Simon’s mental collapse. The form matches the content: a mind trying to hold together pieces that do not fit.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 87 is a turning point for Simon’s inner life. Up to now, the story has focused on the aftermath of the Mage’s death and Simon’s guilt. Here, the guilt multiplies into an existential crisis: if Simon is the Mage’s son, then everything about his past—the care home, the rise to power, the prophecy—was a lie engineered by his own father. This revelation reframes the entire series, turning the Mage from a villain into a twisted parent figure and Simon from a chosen hero into a manufactured tool. The chapter’s emotional intensity sets the stage for how Simon will either accept or reject this truth in the chapters to come.

Study Questions and Answers

Q1: What specific lie does Simon focus on the most in this chapter?
A1: Simon fixates on the claim that the Mage followed his magic to find him in the care home. Simon notes that he did not have magic at that time, so the statement was false. This lie becomes the cornerstone of Simon’s sense of betrayal—it means his entire life as the Mage’s heir was built on a deception.

Q2: Why does Simon refuse to accept that he could be Lady Salisbury’s child?
A2: Accepting that he is Lady Salisbury’s child would mean he is also Lucy’s child and, most painfully, the Mage’s child. That would make the man Simon killed his own father. Simon cannot bear this paradox—that his explosive act of violence was directed at his biological parent—and so he rejects the entire chain of identity rather than face that conclusion.

Q3: How does the chapter’s style (short, repeated phrases) reinforce Simon’s emotional state?
A3: The fragmented, looping language mirrors Simon’s psychological fragmentation. He repeats phrases like “No.” and “It would mean—” as if his mind is stuck in a groove of denial. The style forces the reader to experience Simon’s inability to think forward; he can only circle the same unbearable facts without resolution.

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