Chapter 62: Whenever It Rained — Summary, Themes, 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.
All analysis is based on the text of the chapter itself, and no external sources are used.
The chapter is told from the perspective of Ms. Chen, the grandmother of Nick, and it focuses on a period of illness and reflection that forces her to confront her past and her relationships.
The chapter is titled “Whenever it rained…” and it opens with a memory that sets the tone for the entire narrative.
The rain becomes a recurring motif, triggering memories and emotions that are central to Ms. Chen's character.
This summary will walk you through the chapter chronologically, highlight key events, analyze character development, explore the themes and symbols, and explain why this chapter is significant to the novel as a whole.
We'll also provide three study questions with answers to help you test your understanding.
At the end, you'll find navigation links to the previous chapter, the next chapter, and the book hub.
Let's dive in.
The chapter begins with Ms. Chen reflecting on how rain always makes her think of a homeless mother and daughter she once saw near Macy's.
She remembers their insufficient clothing and lack of shelter, and she notes that the daughter wore the only pair of gloves they had, while their hands were always wrapped in each other's.
She admits that what she felt for them was not pity but envy, because they had each other, and she recalls that she wanted to give everything she had to her own daughter, Lily.
This opening establishes the central theme of mother-daughter bonds and sets up Ms. Chen's guilt and longing.
Ms. Chen has been collecting money from ATM withdrawals, taking out two hundred dollars at a time, and she has accumulated two thousand dollars.
She decides to find the mother and daughter to give them the money, but they are not in their usual location.
She searches frantically through the rain, worried about them.
Eventually, she finds them sitting at a bus stop, under a red plastic overhang that gives them a pink cast.
She approaches the mother, who shakes her head to discourage conversation, but Ms. Chen hands her an envelope of money.
The mother looks inside and tries to return it, but Ms. Chen presses it back, gives her umbrella and scarf, and turns away quickly before the mother can refuse.
She feels guilty, knowing that her gesture is insufficient, and she wonders why she is lucky enough to have a roof over her head when they don't.
Walking home without her umbrella, she gets soaked to the bone.
The cold rain reminds her of playing in rice paddies as a child, when her childhood was intact, before the years of hunger.
She remembers that she had always been comfortable in the rain.
When she arrives home, Nick is shocked to see her drenched and shaking.
He wrings out her coat, turns on a hot shower, and wraps her in a blanket.
She feels dizzy and then blacks out.
The next scene is in a hospital.
Nick is there, bringing orange flowers—marigolds—to replace last week's.
He places them at the foot of the bed and trims their stems with her pink kitchen shears.
Ms. Chen wonders if Lily taught him how to care for flowers, and she reflects on the residue of her daughter in him.
The diagnosis is pneumonia.
Ms. Chen had collapsed, and Nick called an ambulance.
During the ride, she insisted it wasn't needed, but no one agreed.
The doctor, a tall Vietnamese woman, monitors her vital signs and expresses concern about her heart.
Ms. Chen protests, but the doctor is firm.
Nick tells her that Lily still doesn't want to see her, even after he relayed that she was dying.
Ms. Chen is hurt but accepts it, saying, “Well, you're here,” and tells Nick he's not nothing.
She touches the marigold petals, which feel like skin, but she knows they are made of cellulose, not what humans are made of.
She sees so much of her daughter in Nick, and she notices he is wearing her mother's bracelet.
She feels her grief running through her like an electric current, and she thinks of Ping, who could always sense her emotions.
A different doctor enters and asks if Nick is her family.
Ms. Chen nods, and she asks to go home.
The doctor says she's not in the clear yet, but Ms. Chen insists.
The doctor agrees to let her go the next day, but warns her to press the button if she has difficulty breathing.
That night, her fever spikes.
She recalls the heat of blast furnaces from her past, the smell and smoke of those days, and the longing for fresh air.
She remembers how thoughtless they had been to believe that trees needed to be useful, or that usefulness was the point.
She recalls tearing apart a bicycle and dismantling a coffin after the body had been removed, the thoughtless destruction that erased who they had been.
She reflects that in trying to leave the past behind, it follows you like a shadow.
She falls in and out of sleep, unable to get used to the hospital's smell.
In her fevered state, she sees Nick standing before her, wearing a face mask the color of the sky.
She asks if he is busting her out, and he says yes, and that he's taking her home.
This is the end of the chapter.
Now, let's break down the key events in a more structured way.
Key Events
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Ms. Chen recalls the homeless mother and daughter and feels envy for their bond.
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She has collected $2,000 from ATM withdrawals and searches for them.
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She finds them at a bus stop and gives them the money, her umbrella, and her scarf.
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She walks home in the rain, gets soaked, and remembers playing in rice paddies as a child.
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Nick finds her drenched, dries her coat, and runs a hot shower.
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She collapses and blacks out; Nick calls an ambulance.
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In the hospital, she is diagnosed with pneumonia.
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Nick brings marigolds and tells her that Lily still refuses to see her.
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Ms. Chen asks to go home; a doctor agrees to discharge her the next day.
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That night, her fever spikes, and she recalls the blast furnaces and the destruction of her past.
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Nick appears in a face mask and says he is taking her home.
Character Development
This chapter deepens our understanding of Ms. Chen.
She is a woman haunted by her past and her estrangement from her daughter.
Her envy of the homeless mother and daughter reveals her deep loneliness and her longing for a connection she feels she has lost.
She is also guilt-ridden about her privilege, wondering why she has a roof over her head when others don't.
Her act of giving the money and her belongings shows her generosity, but she feels it's insufficient, highlighting her sense of inadequacy.
Her illness brings her to a point of surrender; she reflects that pain is easier to tolerate when you don't resist it, and she seems to accept her mortality.
Her fevered memories of the blast furnaces and the destruction of her past show her grappling with the erasure of her identity and the futility of trying to leave the past behind.
She is also stubborn, insisting on going home even when the doctor warns her.
Nick is portrayed as caring and attentive.
He dries her coat, runs her shower, brings flowers, and sits with her.
He is the one who relays Lily's refusal, and he is the one who ultimately takes her home, showing his loyalty and love.
He also wears her mother's bracelet, connecting him to her family history.
The chapter also indirectly develops Lily's character through her absence; her refusal to see her dying mother is a powerful statement about their relationship.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Rain as a memory trigger: The rain consistently brings back memories for Ms. Chen, from the homeless mother to her childhood in rice paddies.
It serves as a conduit to the past, both painful and nostalgic.
- Mother-daughter bond: The chapter explores the bond between mothers and daughters through the homeless pair, Ms. Chen's relationship with Lily, and her memories of her own mother.
Ms. Chen's envy of the homeless mother and daughter underscores her own loss.
- Guilt over privilege: Ms. Chen feels guilty about her comfortable life compared to the homeless woman's suffering.
This guilt motivates her act of charity, but she knows it's not enough.
- Surrender to pain: Ms. Chen reflects that pain is easier to tolerate when you don't resist it.
This idea is central to her character as she faces illness and mortality.
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Erasing the past: Her fevered memories of the Cultural Revolution and the destruction of objects (bicycle, coffin) symbolize the attempt to erase the past, but she realizes that the past follows you like a shadow.
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Marigolds and Dia de los Muertos: The marigolds Nick brings are associated with the Day of the Dead, meant to guide spirits to altars.
Ms. Chen wonders who will be guided to her, or if it's her own spirit that needs to be led out.
This symbolizes her contemplation of death and the afterlife.
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Grief as an electric current: Ms. Chen describes her grief as running through her like an electric current, a vivid metaphor for the physical and emotional pain she carries.
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Illness and mortality: The pneumonia and her heart concerns bring her face-to-face with her own mortality, forcing her to confront her past and her relationships.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is pivotal for Ms. Chen's character arc.
It reveals her vulnerability, her guilt, and her unresolved feelings about her daughter.
It also deepens her relationship with Nick, showing him as a devoted grandson who cares for her in her time of need.
The chapter's exploration of the past and its shadow is a central theme of the novel, and here we see Ms. Chen directly confronting her memories of the Cultural Revolution and the destruction of her identity.
The chapter also sets up the next chapter, as Nick's decision to take her home suggests a turning point in her illness and perhaps in her life.
It's a chapter that humanizes Ms. Chen, making her more sympathetic and complex.
Study Questions and Answers
- Why does Ms. Chen feel envy rather than pity for the homeless mother and daughter?
Ms. Chen feels envy because the homeless mother and daughter have each other, a bond she longs for with her own daughter, Lily.
She remembers that she wanted to give everything she had to Lily, but Lily is estranged from her.
The homeless pair's mutual presence and physical connection (their hands wrapped in each other's) represents a closeness Ms. Chen lacks, so she envies them rather than pities them.
- What is the significance of the marigolds in this chapter?
The marigolds are associated with Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, and are meant to guide spirits to altars.
Ms. Chen wonders who will be guided to her—Charles, her mother, her father, Ping—or if it's her own spirit that needs to be led out.
The flowers symbolize her contemplation of death and the afterlife, and they also connect to her past and the people she has lost.
Additionally, the marigolds are a gift from Nick, showing his care and his connection to her cultural traditions.
- How does the chapter explore the theme of erasing the past?
In her fevered state, Ms. Chen recalls the destruction of objects during the Cultural Revolution, such as tearing apart a bicycle and dismantling a coffin.
She reflects that the thoughtless destruction was an attempt to erase who they had been, but she realizes that in trying to leave the past behind, it follows you like a shadow.
This theme is central to her character, as she has tried to move forward from her traumatic past but finds it inescapable.
The chapter suggests that the past cannot be erased, only carried.
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