Chapter 87: Home 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
Ed sits on his childhood swing at his parents’ house in Refuge County, remembering his sister Kandy and his own kids playing there. He drove from Connecticut seeking relief from doubt, planning to tell his parents he wanted to move back. But upon arrival, he realized that still wasn’t what he wanted. Ed feels his internal compass is malfunctioning; his true home is with his wife Soh, but he has messed things up. He left without telling her, turning off his phone after buying groceries. He drove north instead of home, ignoring her calls. When he finally tried to call, Soh wouldn’t answer—she had already spoken to his mother. Ed’s father says to stay as long as needed; his mother gives him a tight-lipped side-eye.
Ed recalls taking his children, Baz and Ebby, clamming on the Connecticut shore, how those moments became rarer as they grew older. He thinks of his great‑grandfather, a seafarer, though by Ed’s generation the family had long left the sea. Yet the coast became essential to Ed. He remembers summers on Martha’s Vineyard’s Oak Bluffs, a rare beach welcoming Black families. In 1989, he and Soh bought a house near the water in a mostly white town, a decision his mother and cousins disapproved of for safety reasons. Ed defended his choice as his right to live where he wished. His mother’s deepest concern was her children’s safety, especially as a Black family in the sixties and seventies. Ed had seen danger firsthand in his own county—a truth he has never told his parents.
Key Events
- Ed arrives at his parents’ house in Refuge County, sitting on the old swing.
- He reflects on his spontaneous drive north, abandoning plans with Soh and their dinner guests.
- Ed’s father offers understanding; his mother shows silent displeasure.
- Memory: Ed takes his children clamming on the Connecticut coast.
- Recollection of family summers at Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard.
- Flashback to 1989: Ed and Soh buy a house near the beach in a predominantly white area.
- Ed defends his choice to his mother, arguing it is his right as a Black man.
Character Development
- Ed is torn between loyalty to his childhood home and his adult life with Soh. He acknowledges his mistake in leaving without communicating, recognizing that his true place is with his wife. His internal compass is broken; he sees parallels between his own impulsive drive and Henry’s abandonment of Ebby. Ed also grapples with the weight of his mother’s warnings about safety.
- Ed’s mother is portrayed as deeply protective, shaped by raising Black children in the 1960s and 1970s. Her silence and tight mouth convey disappointment and worry. She prioritizes Ed’s safety over his personal freedom.
- Kandy, Ed’s sister, is the quiet, wise sibling who refrains from judgment, earning Ed’s admiration.
- Soh is absent but central; Ed’s longing for her defines his crisis. Her refusal to answer his call shows her hurt.
- Baz and Ebby appear only in memory, representing a simpler, joyful time now fading.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Home as a compass: Ed thinks each person has an internal compass that should point to who they are. His is malfunctioning, symbolizing his confusion about where he belongs.
- The coast and water: Ed’s essential need to live near the sea contrasts with his inland upbringing. The beach represents both freedom and a chosen identity, separate from family expectations.
- Safety vs. belonging: Ed’s mother argues for safety in a familiar, protective community; Ed argues for the right to live where he chooses, even if it means more vulnerability as a Black man.
- The swing: Dangling from an old oak, it evokes childhood and the passage of time. Ed sits on it as an adult, physically returning to a past he can no longer inhabit.
- Silence and side-eye: His mother’s wordless disapproval is a powerful motif of unresolved tension.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 87 deepens Ed’s internal conflict, which has been building across the novel. It reveals the origin of his marriage’s stress: a deep-rooted tension between his family-of-origin’s protective values and his own vision of a fulfilling adult life. The chapter also provides crucial backstory on why Ed and Soh chose their Connecticut house, and how that decision strained Ed’s relationship with his mother. By showing Ed’s impulsive flight and his recognition that his home is with Soh, the chapter sets up a critical turning point for his character arc. The parallel to Henry’s abandonment of Ebby adds tragic weight to Ed’s actions.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Ed compare his drive away from Soh to Henry leaving Ebby? He draws the parallel because both men drove away impulsively from a partner they were supposed to marry or be with. Ed recognizes the same ease with which Henry may have turned the wheel and left, and he fears he has replicated that pattern of abandonment, damaging his own marriage.
2. What is the significance of Ed’s memory of taking his children clamming? The memory represents a time when family life felt simple and unhurried. Ed recalls the children’s excitement and the rare absence of obligations like tennis or piano practice. It underscores his longing for lost closeness with Baz and Ebby, and his broader regret over becoming distracted from the things that matter.
3. How does Ed’s mother’s concern for safety differ from Ed’s desire for coastal living? Ed’s mother views safety as paramount, rooted in the dangers she and her husband faced raising Black children in the sixties and seventies. She believes a familiar, protective environment (like Refuge County) is safer than a predominantly white coastal town. Ed, however, sees the right to live where he wishes as fundamental to his freedom and identity, accepting the risk as part of being a Black man exercising his full humanity.