Chapter 33 (Chapter 32) – The Storm of 1987: Plants, Poison, and Family Fractures

⚠️ 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

The narrative jumps back to October 1987, when a hurricane devastates the UK and nearly destroys Seaglass. The Darker family had gathered to celebrate Nana’s tenth book launch, but Daisy’s father – a busy orchestra musician – was expected only by phone. Instead, a call from the hospital arrives: he has been in a car accident after being struck by a falling tree while driving to surprise the family. Nancy and Nana rush to his bedside, leaving the children with Mr. Kennedy and his son Conor.

Stuck indoors, Mr. Kennedy tries to entertain the children. He tells them a true story about a Bulgarian journalist killed in 1978 by a poisoned umbrella; the poison, ricin, came from castor bean plants growing in the family’s very garden. This macabre lesson captivates the children, especially Lily and Daisy. Later, Rose and Conor whisper about their parents: Conor’s father (Mr. Kennedy) is angry that Nancy went to her ex‑husband, not to him. Rose remarks that love is the soil in which hate grows.

When Nancy returns with the recovering father, the family enjoys an extended, unusually happy reunion. Daisy, feeling left out, sabotages a spaghetti dinner by adding chili powder and hot sauce, rendering the meal inedible. The siblings blame each other, but Nana silently deduces Daisy’s guilt. The idyllic weeks also strain Nancy’s relationship with Mr. Kennedy, who stays away. The chapter closes with a reflection that the family’s happiness was fleeting – “gratitude tends to go off quicker than milk” in their house.

Key Events

A hurricane forces Nana to cancel her book launch; Daisy’s father is hospitalized after a tree falls on his car.
Mr. Kennedy tells the children about the ricin‑tipped umbrella assassination, using it to warn against neglect of the natural world.
Rose and Conor discuss how love and hate are intertwined, mirroring their parents’ complicated relationships.
Nancy nurses her ex‑husband back to health at Seaglass, causing Mr. Kennedy to withdraw in jealousy.
Daisy secretly spoils the family spaghetti dinner with excessive chili, evoking Nana’s silent suspicion.
The rare family unity disintegrates after Christmas 1987, foreshadowing future estrangement.

Character Development

Daisy Darker – Her mischievous sabotage shows her need for attention and her willingness to use indirect, passive‑aggressive means when she feels excluded. She observes adult tensions keenly.
Nancy Darker – She prioritizes care for her ex‑husband over her current partner, revealing that old emotional bonds still control her choices.
Mr. Kennedy – His bitterness emerges through his dark story about poison and his later withdrawal; jealousy makes him physically absent from Seaglass.
Rose Darker – Her mature (if cynical) insight into love and hate positions her as the most emotionally aware child.
Lily Darker – She dismisses both gardening and Conor’s father, highlighting her early preference for screens over nature and her adversarial nature.
Conor Kennedy – As a witness to adult breakdowns, he echoes his father’s resentment, setting up his own conflicted feelings toward Rose.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Poison and Hidden Danger – The castor bean plant in the garden symbolizes how beauty can conceal lethal threats; this motif recurs throughout the novel.
Love as Soil for Hate – Rose’s metaphor that hate grows from the soil of love encapsulates the novel’s exploration of familial and romantic relationships.
The Great Storm – The 1987 hurricane functions as a catalyst for both accident and reunion, representing the uncontrollable forces that drive the family together and apart.
Gardening as Neglect – The neglected garden while Nancy tends to her ex‑husband mirrors the emotional neglect Mr. Kennedy feels.
Food as Weapon – Daisy’s chili‑laden spaghetti prefigures later uses of food as a medium for harm or deceit.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the mystery of the Darker family’s present‑day dysfunction by showing its origins. It introduces the concept of ricin – later crucial to the unfolding poisonings – and establishes Mr. Kennedy’s plant‑knowledge as evidence. Daisy’s hidden act of sabotage reveals her capacity for vindictiveness, while the temporary 1987 reunion underscores how fragile their happiness is. The flashback also provides background for the long‑standing rift between Nancy and Mr. Kennedy, and between the sisters. Understanding this chapter helps readers interpret the motives and resentments that erupt during the fatal birthday weekend.

Study Questions & Answers

Why does Mr. Kennedy tell the children the story of the poisoned umbrella, and what does it reveal about his character?
He uses the story to prove that gardening is not boring, but the choice of a real‑life assassination reflects his cynical, even threatening worldview. It also foreshadows his botanical expertise, which may be used for harm later.
What does Daisy’s sabotage of the spaghetti dinner signify about her relationship with her sisters?
Feeling excluded, Daisy retaliates in a way that pits her sisters against each other. It shows her resentment of being the overlooked youngest child and her early tendency to manipulate situations to gain attention.
Why does Nancy choose to care for her ex‑husband rather than stay with Mr. Kennedy, and how does that decision affect the family?
Nancy still loves her ex‑husband, as Rose suggests (love as the soil of hate). Her choice fractures her relationship with Mr. Kennedy, leading to his long absence and contributing to the eventual collapse of the Darker family unity after 1987.