Chapter 37: Interstitial – Vanessa’s Diary and the Attack

⚠️ 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

The chapter is a diary entry by Vanessa Chapman, written in retrospect. She begins by admitting she is unsure how to write about the event and that her memory may not be entirely accurate.

One afternoon around 4 p.m., Vanessa is working alone in her studio. The day is dark and blustery. She hears a car but sees nothing from the causeway. She returns to work, loading pieces into the kiln for glaze firing, when she notices movement past a window. Seconds later, a man appears in the studio doorway. She recognizes him as the man who repaired her quad the previous winter. She instantly knows he intends to harm her.

Vanessa grabs a shotgun leaning against the wall. The man advances silently, and she tries to fire, but the gun jams. She attempts to use it as a club but is too slow. He overpowers her, pushing her to the ground. He puts one hand on her throat and tries to undo her jeans with the other. She screams, closes her eyes, and then hears a horrible gurgling sound. The man’s weight lifts.

Grace is behind him, having wrapped a clay cutter’s wire around his neck. She pulls him backward, choking him as he kicks and tries to free his fingers from the wire. He struggles and makes awful sounds. Vanessa remains on her knees, frozen. Grace eventually pushes the man onto his stomach, keeping the wire tight, and shouts for Vanessa to call the police and take the gun.

Vanessa runs to the house and dials the emergency number, crying too hard to answer questions clearly. She returns to the studio to find that the man is not dead. Grace has restrained his ankles with twine and his wrists with her belt, keeping the wire around his neck. For the next hour and a half, while they wait for police, the man does not stop talking, describing all the ways he will hurt Vanessa and the tools he will use.

Grace stays kneeling on his back, holding the wire, while Vanessa stands over him with the jammed gun. When the police finally arrive, Grace remains calm throughout. She stays overnight at the house. Vanessa concludes the entry by stating she owes Grace her life—that she owes her everything.

Key Events

Vanessa works alone in her studio on a dark, blustery afternoon.
A man who had previously fixed her quad enters the studio and attacks her.
Vanessa grabs a shotgun, but it jams; the man overpowers her and attempts sexual assault.
Grace enters and uses a clay cutter’s wire to choke the attacker from behind.
Grace restrains the man with twine, a belt, and the wire; Vanessa calls the police.
They hold the man for ninety minutes while he makes violent threats nonstop.
Grace stays the night; Vanessa declares a lifelong debt.

Character Development

Vanessa Chapman: This chapter reveals Vanessa’s raw vulnerability. She is a survivor of a brutal assault, and her diary entry is fragmented and emotional, showing the trauma she endured. Her gratitude toward Grace is total; she recasts herself as a dependent figure who owes everything to her friend.
Grace: Grace takes decisive, violent action to save Vanessa. She uses her knowledge of the studio (the clay cutter’s wire) and maintains physical control of the attacker for an extended period. Her command (“for god’s sake, go call the police, take the gun”) shows her ability to act under extreme pressure. This moment deepens our understanding of the intense loyalty and power between the two women.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Debt and Gratitude: The chapter’s closing lines—“I owe her my life. I owe her everything.”—cement debt as a central theme. Grace’s intervention creates an unpayable obligation that colors all future interactions between the women.
Trauma and Memory: Vanessa acknowledges her account may not be “wholly accurate,” pointing to the fragmenting effect of trauma on memory. The diary form itself becomes a symbol of the need to reconstruct a coherent story from a shattered experience.
The Studio as Site of Danger and Rescue: The studio, a space of creativity and clay work, becomes the scene of a near-fatal attack. Grace repurposes a clay cutter’s wire—an artist’s tool—as a weapon for rescue, blending creation with destruction.
Waiting and Helplessness: The ninety-minute wait for police highlights isolation and the failure of official protection. During that time, the attacker’s verbal threats replace physical violence, prolonging Vanessa’s terror.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 37 provides the pivotal, long-hidden backstory that explains the bond between Vanessa and Grace. It reveals the origin of Grace’s fierce protectiveness and Vanessa’s deep dependency. The diary entry is the emotional core of their relationship: from this moment forward, every choice Vanessa makes is influenced by the debt she feels. The chapter also deepens the novel’s exploration of violence against women, the inadequacy of law enforcement in rural settings, and the moral complexities of using deadly force. It reframes Grace not just as a friend but as someone capable of extreme, even violent, loyalty.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Vanessa’s diary entry begin by doubting its own accuracy?
Vanessa admits she is unsure how to write about the attack and that her memory “doubt[s] this is wholly accurate.” This reflects the disorienting nature of traumatic experience, where shock and fear can blur details. It also establishes the diary as an attempt to impose order on chaotic events, a theme that resonates throughout the novel.
What is the significance of the clay cutter’s wire in this chapter?
The clay cutter’s wire is a mundane studio tool that Grace repurposes as a weapon of last resort. It symbolizes the intersection of Vanessa’s artistic life with the violence that invades it. Grace’s ability to think quickly and use what is at hand underscores her resourcefulness and her intimate knowledge of Vanessa’s workspace.
How does the ninety-minute wait for police affect your understanding of the characters’ isolation?
The long delay emphasizes the remoteness of the causeway setting and the failure of external support systems. Vanessa and Grace are left entirely on their own to contain a violent man who continues to threaten them. This prolonged ordeal deepens the bond between them and reinforces the novel’s theme that these two women can only rely on each other.