Chapter 4: Wales — Summary, Key Events, 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

Chapter 4 opens in Abergavenny, Wales, in 2022, with the narrator moving through the town in a state of extreme vigilance. They are acutely aware that Arden could be anywhere, and that a single lapse in concentration could be fatal. The narrator reflects on a recent failure in El Salvador, where they failed to spot Rafael Quiñónez, and on the fact that their lives are fatally intertwined with Arden's—a mutual assured destruction that means any attack on one would kill both. With only four more days needed to keep giving Gracie her daily hospital injections, the narrator must stay alive, but chooses to remain a moving target rather than hide.

At the hospital, the narrator passes their mother in the cafeteria. Mum carries two takeaway coffees and a pack of almonds for Gracie, and the narrator gently encourages her to joke more, reminding her how Gracie cheered the family up after Dad died. Mum promises to try, though her smile doesn't reach her eyes. Leaving the hospital, the narrator waves to Dylan, the farmhand who has helped Mum for the past couple of years; his coat pockets are stuffed with sweets and a film magazine, a contrast to the almonds and sincerity of the hospital.

Walking through town, the narrator notices an unfamiliar blond boy outside a florist's—tall, with close-together eyes and a slender frame. The narrator quickens their pace, unsettled by the stranger's presence. They arrive at Beacon Books, a small independent bookshop where they work after dropping out of school. The narrator explains that after centuries of education, they lost interest in formal learning, while Arden has always loved literature, poetry, and plays, carrying a notebook in every life. The narrator badgered the shop's owner, Mr. Oyinlola, for months to get hired, hoping that Arden's love of books would draw them to the shop.

During their shift, the narrator restocks the nonfiction section while watching for Arden, checking the jacket copy of new titles for anything about conscious reincarnation. Nia, Mr. Oyinlola's daughter, initiates conversation and hands the narrator a copy of a poetry book called Ten Hundred Years of You, author unknown. Nia explains that a travel journalist found the handwritten book in the Siberian wilderness, decades old, and that it has become a sensation, translated worldwide. The narrator, who avoids social media out of principle, realizes this must be Arden's poetry—the same book Gracie performed in the hospital. The chapter ends with the narrator's conviction that fate and synchronicity have delivered Arden's writing into their hands.

Key Events

The narrator navigates Abergavenny on high alert, scanning for Arden after missing Rafael Quiñónez in El Salvador.
At the hospital, the narrator encourages Mum to joke more to lift Gracie's spirits, referencing how Gracie helped the family after Dad died.
The narrator waves to Dylan the farmhand outside the hospital.
The narrator spots an unfamiliar blond boy outside a florist's and quickens their pace.
The narrator arrives late at Beacon Books, where they work after dropping out of school.
Nia gives the narrator a copy of Ten Hundred Years of You, a reincarnation-themed poetry collection found in the Siberian wilderness with no known author.
The narrator concludes the book must be Arden's poetry.

Character Development

The narrator is defined by a constant, exhausting vigilance. The chapter shows them balancing the need to protect Gracie with the need to survive Arden's hunt. Their decision to work at Beacon Books reveals a strategic, almost predatory side: they want to find Arden first this time, to gain the upper hand rather than be caught off guard. The narrator's refusal to use social media—out of principle, not just self-preservation—shows a deep skepticism of modern culture, while their centuries of accumulated experience give them a perspective that ordinary adults lack.

Mum appears briefly but meaningfully. Her grief and worry are visible in her pink nose and tight smile, and the narrator's gentle push for her to joke more shows the family's coping mechanism of humor. Mum's promise to try, even without a genuine smile, suggests a quiet resilience.

Nia is introduced as a timid, serious young woman with narrow interests—chess, birdwatching, nuclear warfare—who keeps people at arm's length. Her decision to set aside a copy of Ten Hundred Years of You for the narrator shows a small but significant act of connection, and her knowledge of the book's backstory provides the chapter's crucial revelation.

Arden is present only through the narrator's memories and the poetry book, but the chapter deepens our understanding of them: they love words, ideas, and poetry, carry a notebook in every life, and are drawn to literature like a bee to nectar. The narrator finds these quirks