Chapter Seventeen: The Summer They Turned Fifteen

Spoiler Warning: This chapter summary contains major plot details from Chapter Seventeen of My Friends. Proceed with caution if you haven’t read the book.

Summary

The chapter opens with reflections on childhood memory, noting how the artist on his deathbed whispered Joar’s name and repeatedly asked “Where’s Ali?” The narrative then goes back twenty-five years to the summer the friends turned fifteen. They had a ritual of crying “HERE!” when emerging from the sea or meeting at a crossroads—four cries, always beginning with hers.

One morning Joar doesn’t appear at the crossroads because he lay awake all night clutching a knife, waiting for his drunken father to come home so he could kill him. His father never arrives; instead, Joar’s mother senses something wrong and makes him repot the apartment’s plants. She sees disappointment rather than relief in his eyes. Joar hides the knife in his backpack and meets his friends. Ted, sensing Joar’s pain, tries to cheer him up by shouting “artichoke” at a squirrel, revealing his childhood belief that the word meant “squirrel”—a misunderstanding that brought him endless mockery before he met Joar and the artist. The artist carries a backpack full of pills stolen from Ted’s father’s bathroom cabinet. As they walk toward the pier, Joar asks, “Where’s Ali?” and a voice roars “HERE!” as Ali comes flying around a corner, finally revealing the fourth member of their group. The chapter ends with the knowledge that the painting should have been called “The Boys and Her” all along.

Key Events

The artist’s deathbed memories: whispering Joar’s name, asking for Ali, and clinging to trivial details from childhood.
Flashback to the friends’ ritual of crying “HERE!” whenever they emerged from the water or met in the dark.
Joar hides a knife, intending to kill his abusive father; his father never comes home.
Joar’s mother notices his darkness and makes him repot plants, inadvertently preventing the attack.
Ted tells the story of his brother tricking him into believing the word for “squirrel” was “artichoke.”
The artist steals pills from Ted’s father’s bathroom, suggesting his own hidden struggles.
Joar asks the group where Ali is, and she appears, completing the foursome.
The chapter establishes that the group always consisted of four friends, not three.

Character Development

Joar: His internal violence surfaces as he actively plans parricide. His mother’s observation of his disappointment reveals how close he came to committing murder. The knife remains hidden in his backpack, a ticking time bomb.
Ted: His backstory as an immigrant struggling with language is revealed. His humor becomes a protective instinct—he uses the artichoke joke to lighten Joar’s mood, showing his empathy and loyalty.
The Artist: On his deathbed, his mind returns to this summer, indicating its profound impact. Carrying stolen pills hints at his own pain and foreshadows later tragedy.
Ali: Though she appears only at the end, her presence is pivotal. She is the first voice in the “HERE” sequence, establishing her as central to the group’s identity.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Memory and Nostalgia: The opening contrast between sunlit childhood and harsh reality sets the tone. The artist’s fragmented deathbed memories highlight how the brain clings to seemingly random details while burying trauma.
Violence and Containment: The knife and the pills are both hidden in backpacks—symbols of suppressed violence and pain. Joar’s plan to kill his father is thwarted only by circumstance, not by choice.
Language and Miscommunication: Ted’s “artichoke” story illustrates the alienation of not knowing a language. The word becomes a private joke that bonds the friends, turning a source of shame into a source of strength.
The Fourth Friend: The repeated pattern of four cries and the final reveal of Ali challenge the earlier assumption that the group was three. This motif emphasizes that memory can be unreliable and that crucial people can be forgotten.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point because it introduces Ali as the long-hidden fourth friend, reshaping the reader’s understanding of the group’s dynamics. It also exposes the violent undercurrents—Joar’s attempted murder and the artist’s stolen pills—that threaten to destroy their innocence. The deathbed frame shows that these childhood moments haunt the artist until his final days, suggesting they are the key to understanding his life and art. The chapter deepens the novel’s exploration of memory, loyalty, and the cost of keeping secrets.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Joar hide a knife, and what stops him from using it?
Joar hides the knife intending to kill his abusive, alcoholic father. He is stopped because his father doesn’t come home that night, and his mother’s intervention (repotting plants) reveals her suspicion, forcing Joar to postpone his plan and hide the knife in his backpack.
What does Ted’s “artichoke” story reveal about his childhood and his friendship with Joar and the artist?
The story reveals Ted’s early struggles as an immigrant learning English, the embarrassment of being tricked by his brother, and the cruelty he endured from other children. With Joar and the artist, he experienced laughter without malice for the first time, which gave him the security to speak freely. The joke becomes a bonding tool that helps him support Joar in a moment of crisis.
How does the chapter challenge the earlier assumption that there were only three friends?
The chapter uses the repeated ritual of four “HERE!” cries (hers first, then Joar, the artist, and Ted) and the final appearance of Ali to show that the group always included a fourth member. The narrative itself initially reflects Ted’s faulty memory—he recalls “four of them” even though three are present—underscoring the unreliability of nostalgia and the possibility that a crucial person was forgotten.

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