Chapter 6: “Saturday 6th July 2019” – 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

Andy wakes from a ten‑hour sleep in his mother’s house, still disoriented by the breakup. He compulsively checks his phone and watches Jen’s Instagram story four times, searching for clues. In town to run errands, he smells Jen’s perfume, Armani She, on a stranger and experiences a physical panic. He ends up drinking alone at a prosecco bar, where he meets his mother’s friend Debbie. Debbie advises him to “wipe” Jen from his life. Emboldened by alcohol, Andy goes to Boots, buys four bottles of the perfume (plus two meal deals), and takes them to the canal. After failing to find the right ceremonial song, he dumps all four bottles into the water, hoping to destroy the sensory triggers that keep Jen present.

Key Events

Andy wakes up in his mother’s house, still adjusting to the breakup.
He watches Jen’s Instagram story (a photo of a park) multiple times, knowing she will see he viewed it.
In town, a stranger’s perfume triggers a full‑body emotional reaction—rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath.
Andy drinks alone at a prosecco bar, where he ignores messages from Avi.
Debbie, an old friend of his mother, finds him and advises him to “wipe” Jen from his life.
Under the influence, Andy buys four bottles of Armani She from Boots, along with two meal deals.
He takes the bottles to the canal, lights a cigarette, and throws them into the water, trying to force a sense of closure.

Character Development

Andy: His grief manifests as obsessive behaviour (re‑watching Instagram stories), self‑pity (personifying his toothbrush and records), and a desperate need for control. Buying and destroying the perfume is a performative act intended to reclaim power, but the chapter ends without the triumph he hoped for.
Debbie: A minor but revealing character. Her blunt advice to “wipe” the ex from one’s life represents the conventional wisdom Andy receives but cannot truly follow. Her presence also highlights how Andy’s mother has been sharing his breakup with her social circle.

Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

Scent and Memory: Alderton uses Armani She as a powerful trigger. The perfume is tied to Jen’s skin, clothes, and bed, and encountering it in public sends Andy into a visceral state. His attempt to destroy the perfume is an attempt to erase the olfactory memories.
Ritual and Performance: Andy stages a ceremony at the canal, searching for the right song and trying to force an epiphany. The act is both comic and tragic—he ends up “dumping” the bottles unceremoniously when he hears people approaching.
The Inadequacy of Advice: Debbie’s “wipe her” mantra is delivered with confidence but proves useless. Andy’s drinking and shopping spree show that grief cannot be solved by a simple slogan.
Self‑Sabotage: Knowing that viewing Jen’s Instagram will reveal his presence, Andy does it anyway. The “masochistic euphoria” he describes captures the pull of behaviour that only deepens his pain.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 6 is a turning point in Andy’s emotional spiral. It moves from passive moping to active—if misguided—action. The perfume‑buying scene is both darkly comic and painful, illustrating how grief can hijack rational decision‑making. The failed ritual at the canal underscores that there is no shortcut to healing, and the chapter sets up Andy’s ongoing struggle to disentangle himself from Jen’s memory. It also introduces the motif of ritualistic destruction that may resurface later.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Andy buy four bottles of Jen’s perfume and then throw them into the canal?
Andy wants to eliminate the sensory triggers that cause him pain. By destroying the perfume, he hopes to regain control over his grief and prevent future episodes of smelling Jen on strangers. The act is a desperate, performative attempt to force closure, but it ultimately fails to provide the catharsis he craves.
What does Debbie’s advice (“WIPE her”) reveal about the way friends and family respond to a breakup?
Debbie offers a simplistic, all‑or‑nothing solution that ignores the complexity of Andy’s feelings. Her advice reflects a common cultural impulse to advise “moving on” without acknowledging the messy, non‑linear nature of grief. Andy cannot actually “wipe” Jen from his life, and the scene highlights the gap between well‑meant advice and lived experience.
How does Alderton use sensory details, especially smell, to convey Andy’s emotional state?
The scent of Armani She triggers an involuntary physiological reaction—racing heart, shortness of breath—that bypasses rational thought. Alderton emphasises that the perfume is “the one thing that would follow me around forever,” linking olfactory memory to the persistence of emotional attachment. The detail makes Andy’s grief tangible and shows how the past can intrude without warning.