Chapter 36: Thirty-Two – 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
After tucking their children Grace and Lincoln into bed, the narrator locks the bedroom door and shares an urgent, desperate sexual encounter with her husband David. Their lovemaking is intense and animalistic, a physical reaffirmation of their bond amid financial strain. Afterwards, lying together, they brainstorm ways to escape their problems: taking out a mortgage, selling the house, David selling his restaurant, moving to Hawaii, or changing careers—David teaching math, the narrator returning to criminal defense. David ends the conversation by whispering that if you believe something hard enough, you can make it true. The chapter highlights their mutual desire for a fresh start and reliance on fantasy as a coping mechanism.
Key Events
- The narrator locks the bedroom door after the children are asleep.
- She and David tear at each other’s clothes and have urgent sex, with her crying out and David covering her mouth.
- During a second round, the narrator mutes herself and covers David’s mouth as he climaxes.
- Afterward, she asks him to stay inside her, not to move.
- They discuss financial solutions: mortgage, selling the house, David selling the restaurant, moving to Hawaii, and starting new careers.
- David whispers that believing hard enough can make a dream true.
Character Development
Narrator (the wife): Her desperation for physical intimacy reveals a deep need for reassurance and connection. She is willing to entertain drastic escape fantasies to preserve her marriage, showing both vulnerability and a capacity for self-deception.
David: He participates enthusiastically in the fantasy of a fresh start, but his closing line about belief hints at a possible tendency to manipulate reality—or to lie. The chapter deepens his role as a partner who both comforts and potentially deceives.
Grace and Lincoln: Only mentioned as background; they represent the family unit the narrator is trying to protect.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Intimacy as escape: The sexual encounter is a physical manifestation of the couple’s need to escape financial pressure. Their desperate passion mirrors their emotional urgency.
Financial strain: Money troubles are the catalyst for the entire conversation, symbolizing the external threat to their marriage.
Fantasy vs. reality: The discussion of moving to Hawaii and changing careers is a shared daydream. David’s claim that belief can make it true suggests a willingness to prioritize fantasy over practical solutions.
Belief and deception: Given the book’s title Lies He Told Me, David’s line about belief may foreshadow future lies or self-deception. The chapter leaves open whether his words are sincere or manipulative.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a pivotal emotional high point in the couple’s relationship. It temporarily resolves the tension created by their financial problems through physical intimacy and shared fantasy. At the same time, it plants seeds of doubt: David’s final whisper could be read as romantic encouragement or as the first suggestion that he is constructing a fictional reality. The chapter sets up the possibility that the “lies he told me” may involve promises of escape that never materialize.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does the setting of the chapter—after the children are asleep, in the locked bedroom—contribute to the tone?
The private setting creates a space for raw vulnerability. The door lock emphasizes their need for secrecy and exclusivity, while the awareness of the children down the hall adds tension and urgency to the scene.
2. What does the couple’s conversation about selling the restaurant and moving to Hawaii reveal about their mindset?
It reveals a shared escapism. Rather than focusing on concrete solutions to their debt, they build a dream life that requires little sacrifice. This suggests they are avoiding the true severity of their financial situation.
3. David says, “If you believe it hard enough, you can make it be true.” Given the book’s title, why might this line be significant?
The line blurs the line between reality and illusion. It could indicate David’s belief in positive thinking, but it also echoes the theme of deception—he may be encouraging the narrator to believe in something that isn’t real. The title Lies He Told Me makes the reader suspect this is a false promise.