Chapter 29 'Be Kind, Rewind': 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 a few beers, Olga bluntly asks to use Matteo's bathroom. Matteo tries to redirect her to a nearby Peruvian restaurant, but Olga insists, and he reluctantly lets her inside his house. As she steps in, she is struck by the warm glow of multiple light fixtures and a chaotic but deliberate arrangement of mirrors and picture frames. She quickly realizes the house is not a typical home but a museum of Matteo's hoarding.
The living room has been turned into a makeshift furniture museum, with chairs of every style—Victorian to Bauhaus—hung on the walls. Across the hall, the dining room has become a music room, lined with shelves of records, eight-track players, cassette decks, CD players, and speakers. Matteo sheepishly explains that upstairs he has a lamp room, a Christmas room, and a bedroom full of televisions. He admits that no one has been inside the house in eight years except him.
Olga is surprised to feel endeared rather than repulsed. She senses the emotional hole that all these objects are trying to fill. Matteo plays a Fania All Stars record, and they dance. Olga shares a memory of her childhood dance parties with her father, who played congas and loved music. After his death, she says, she went to the basement where his records were stored, and in a fit of rage, she smashed them all. She describes how the records didn't shatter but broke into large pieces, and how she realized she had destroyed the only way to revisit those memories. She says she cried until she couldn't anymore and never really cried again.
Matteo listens gently and offers to find copies of her father's records from his own collection. Olga agrees but asks to leave them at his house, saying it's a nice room to listen to music in. They spend the rest of the night until dawn, with Olga calling out titles and Matteo pulling them from his shelves. They listen, talk, and dance. As the night winds down, Olga asks if Matteo owns a suit, and after some playful banter, she formally invites him to her cousin Mabel's wedding the following weekend. He accepts with a smile.
Key Events
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Olga insists on using Matteo's bathroom, forcing him to let her into his house for the first time.
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Olga sees the extent of Matteo's hoarding: furniture, music equipment, lamps, magazines, televisions, and a Christmas room.
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Matteo reveals that no one has entered his house in eight years.
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They listen to a Fania All Stars record and dance.
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Olga recounts her father's death and how she smashed his entire record collection in a fit of rage, vowing never to cry again.
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Matteo offers to find copies of her father's records from his own collection.
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They spend the night listening to music until dawn.
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Olga invites Matteo to her cousin Mabel's wedding, and he accepts.
Character Development
Olga undergoes a significant emotional shift in this chapter. She has been guarded and emotionally malnourished, but with Matteo she feels a rare sense of relief and unwinding. Her decision to share the painful story of smashing her father's records is a major act of vulnerability—she has never spoken so openly about herself with anyone, let alone a romantic partner. The chapter also reveals a deeper layer of her grief: she destroyed the records not only out of anger at her father but also out of shame for avoiding him when he was alive. Her admission that she never cried again suggests a long-suppressed emotional wound. By the end, she takes a concrete step toward connection by inviting Matteo to a family wedding, signaling a willingness to integrate him into her life.
Matteo shows his own vulnerability by letting Olga into his house, a space he has kept sealed for eight years. His hoarding is revealed as a coping mechanism for loss—likely tied to his mother's death and his own feelings of being lost. He is sheepish but also proud of his collections, and his offer to find her father's records shows a desire to help Olga heal. His acceptance of the wedding invitation indicates he is ready to move beyond his isolation.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Hoarding as emotional coping: Matteo's house is a physical manifestation of his inability to let go of the past. Each room—lamps, magazines, televisions, Christmas decorations—represents an attempt to fill an emotional void with material objects. Olga recognizes this and feels envy that he has found something to pack the hole in his heart.
Grief and rage: Olga's story of smashing her father's records is a powerful example of how grief can turn into destructive anger. She couldn't hurt her father, so she destroyed the things he loved. The act was both cathartic and devastating, as it erased the tangible links to her memories.
Music as memory: The chapter is steeped in music as a trigger for memory and emotion. The Fania All Stars record brings back Olga's childhood dance parties. Matteo's collection preserves the past in a way that Olga's destruction erased it. Music becomes a bridge between them and a means of healing.
Emotional intimacy and vulnerability: The chapter is built on the trust Olga and Matteo extend to each other. Matteo lets her into his private sanctuary; Olga shares her deepest regret. Their night of listening to records becomes an intimate ritual of connection.
Destruction and regret: Olga's smashing of the records is a symbol of irreversible loss. She regrets it immediately, realizing she has destroyed the only way to revisit her memories. This regret underscores the theme of acting in anger and living with the consequences.
Material accumulation vs. emotional emptiness: Matteo's hoarding contrasts with Olga's emotional barrenness. He fills his house with things; she has stripped herself bare. The chapter suggests that neither extreme is healthy, but that connection with another person can begin to fill the void.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point in Olga and Matteo's relationship. It moves them from casual intimacy to genuine emotional exposure. Olga's confession about her father's records is one of the most vulnerable moments she has had in the novel, and Matteo's response—offering to help her reclaim those memories—shows his capacity for care. The chapter also deepens our understanding of Matteo's hoarding, revealing it as a response to loss rather than mere clutter. Finally, the invitation to Mabel's wedding sets up a new narrative thread, promising to bring Olga's family and Matteo together in a public setting, which will likely test their bond.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Olga decide to tell Matteo about smashing her father's records, and what does this reveal about her emotional state?
Olga tells Matteo because she feels safe with him—something she hasn't felt with anyone outside her family. The story reveals that she has been carrying guilt and shame about her father's addiction and her own avoidance of him. Smashing the records was an act of rage, but it also left her emotionally numb, as she never cried again. Sharing this with Matteo is a step toward reconnecting with her feelings.
2. How does Matteo's hoarding function as a coping mechanism, and how does Olga's reaction to it differ from what she expected?
Matteo's hoarding is a way to preserve memories and fill the emotional void left by his mother's death and his own sense of being lost. He keeps objects categorized and functional, suggesting a need for control. Olga expects to be repulsed, but instead she feels endeared and envious—she wishes she had found something to fill her own emptiness. Her reaction shows her growing empathy for Matteo.
3. What does the invitation to Mabel's wedding signify for Olga and Matteo's relationship?
The invitation is a major step. Olga has been guarded and avoidant of family events, but she wants Matteo there. It signifies that she is ready to introduce him to her family and to be seen with him publicly. For Matteo, accepting means leaving his isolated world and entering Olga's social sphere. It marks a shift from a private, secretive connection to a more open and committed one.