Chapter 23: Amy – 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

Amy returns home with a nice bottle of wine and steak tips, planning a special dinner for JP. She finds him in the bedroom crying over a box of photographs of his late ex-wife, Vivi. Though jealous, Amy tries to be supportive. She gently probes about their marriage, and JP admits Vivi ended the marriage—not just because of Amy. Then JP reveals he’s going to Savannah’s house for dinner that night, having forgotten to tell Amy earlier. Hurt, Amy goes to the Gaslight alone, drinking heavily and imagining herself as a character in one of Vivi’s novels. After several drinks, she walks past Savannah’s house and sneaks into the backyard. Through the window she sees JP and Savannah embracing emotionally, nearly kissing. Amy runs away, scraping her knee. She returns to the Gaslight, where she runs into Dennis, who offers to dance with her.

Key Events

Amy finds JP looking through old photos of Vivi, crying.
She reassures JP that Vivi was pretty and alive, fighting her jealousy.
JP states that Vivi “threw in the towel” on their marriage.
JP informs Amy he has dinner plans with Savannah.
Amy goes to the Gaslight alone, orders drinks and food, and drinks both her cocktail and an imaginary one for Lorna.
She sneaks to Savannah’s backyard and sees JP and Savannah embracing intimately.
Amy stumbles and scrapes her knee while fleeing.
She returns to the Gaslight and meets Dennis, who invites her to dance.

Character Development

Amy: Struggles with jealousy and insecurity. She realizes she has never seen the home she helped wreck, and fears the narrative of Vivi being rewritten as a saint. Despite her pain, she tries to be understanding, but her emotional fragility shows when she drinks alone and spies on JP.
JP: Deep in grief, he clings to memories of Vivi. His secrecy about the dinner with Savannah and his evasive “we should have a talk” comment unsettle Amy. His embrace of Savannah hints at unresolved ties.
Savannah: Though not physically present in the chapter beyond the window scene, she is portrayed as a comfort to JP, showing vulnerability and possibly rekindling an old connection.
Dennis: Reappears as a sympathetic figure; he is the only one who asks about Amy’s feelings and offers companionship.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Photographs as a symbol of memory and loss: The box of photos represents the life JP shared with Vivi that Amy can never fully access or replace. Each picture deepens Amy’s sense of being an outsider.
The Gaslight bar: A place of escape and reinvention. Amy imagines herself as a character in Vivi’s novels, using the venue to momentarily forget her troubles.
Wine and alcohol: Amy drinks to numb her pain, from the rosé at home to the Cliff Lede cabernet and the Blackout Barbie cocktails. Alcohol becomes a coping mechanism—and a mirror for her loneliness.
Rewriting history: Amy fears that after Vivi’s death, their troubled marriage will be remembered as a happy one, with Amy cast as the temptress who broke it up. This tension between past reality and present grief is central.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens Amy’s point of view, showing the emotional cost of her affair with JP. It exposes the fragility of their current relationship and suggests that JP may not be as committed to Amy as she hopes. The near-kiss between JP and Savannah introduces the possibility of a new romantic entanglement, while Amy’s encounter with Dennis opens a potential counter-narrative. The chapter also reinforces the theme of grief’s ability to rewrite personal histories, leaving Amy feeling erased.

Study Questions & Answers

1. Why does Amy feel threatened by the photographs JP is looking at?
The photos show Vivi and JP’s life together before Amy entered the picture. For Amy, they represent a past she can never be part of and highlight her role in breaking up that family. She fears JP’s grief may cause him to idealize Vivi and regret leaving her.

2. What does JP mean when he says “we probably should have a talk at some point”?
His comment is vague and unsettling to Amy. It implies that unresolved issues exist between them, possibly about the future of their relationship. Amy worries it might mean he’s having second thoughts about staying with her, especially after reconnecting with Vivi’s family.

3. How does Amy’s behavior at the Gaslight contrast with her earlier attempt to be supportive?
Earlier she suppresses her jealousy to comfort JP. Alone at the bar, she drinks excessively, lies about Lorna’s presence, and succumbs to self-pity. This shift reveals her loneliness and the emotional toll of being the “other woman” now competing with a dead woman.