46 pages • 1 hour read
Abbi WaxmanThe Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 14-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 14 Summary
Peter and Archie both reach out to Nina to reassure her after the debacle with Lydia. Nina goes to lunch with Archie, and they discuss their parents. Archie admits that meeting Nina has “kind of messed up a lot of what I took for granted” (168). He also admits to experiencing anxiety just as Nina does. When he suggests that Nina will meet someone with whom to develop a romance, she says, “I’ll stick with my fictional love life, thanks” (172). As she prepares for the next book club meeting, Nina jokes to herself that she is living the dream.
Chapter 15 Summary
On Thursday, May 16, Nina follows her usual routine of scheduling absolutely nothing for the evening; in fact, she writes “nothing” in her planner and is “fiercely defensive of her nothing” (175). When Tom enters the store and invites her on a date, Nina insists that she is busy for weeks. Polly warns Nina that life is unpredictable and observes that Nina is being inflexible.
Chapter 16 Summary
Nina contemplates her bookshelves and her collection, and reflects on how important public libraries are to her. Being surrounded by books makes her feel as though she has companions, so her Thursday reading night is a ritual for her. She is now reading The Human Comedy by William Saroyan, and when a character announces that he is lonely but does not know why, Nina impulsively texts Tom. He is smart and funny, and she enjoys corresponding with him.
Chapter 17 Summary
On Saturday, May 18, Liz tells Nina and Polly stories about bad dates. As millennials, Nina and Polly are accustomed to researching potential dates online. Mr. Meffo, the landlord, approaches, and Liz insists that she has already paid the rent. Nina watches Aliens with her friends, and they trade trivia facts. After the movie, she sees Tom with Lisa. Tom invites Nina to dinner; they enjoy their conversation. Nina insists that she enjoys planning out her life, while Tom believes in serendipity. She tells him that she recently discovered her family. She also privately reflects that she is not “anxious around Tom […] but she [is] definitely…aware” (200). Tom walks her home, kisses her goodnight, and leaves.
Chapter 18 Summary
On Sunday, May 19, Peter invites Nina to meet his mother, Becky, who is a veterinarian. Nina is surprised to realize that Culver City has become gentrified. Becky has a noisy pack of dogs. Nina also meets John, Peter’s stepfather; Peter’s father died when he was young. Becky also offers observations about William, reflecting that he “liked the concept of fatherhood […] the job description. He just didn’t want to do the actual work” (213).
Chapter 19 Summary
On Saturday, May 25, Nina arrives at the wedding. Nina observes that she feels less anxious than usual about meeting new people. The format of the wedding is very casual, with the guests seated on rugs, and Nina enjoys talking with the people around her. Rachel is a beautiful bride, and the wedding is relaxed. Tom is the best man because his brother, Richard, is the groom. The guests picnic on their rug, and Nina and Tom dance, even sharing a kiss.
Chapter 20 Summary
Nina takes Tom to her place, and he admires the bookshelves. Nina’s cat, Phil, bites Tom on the ankle. They spend the night together, and the next morning, Tom gets breakfast and coffee. As they walk through Larchmont Boulevard and eat ice cream, Tom finds himself charmed by Nina’s imagination while she enjoys his ability to be silly. They talk about their childhoods and their families. Nina reflects that she feels less anxious around him, thinking that he is “solid and real” and reflecting that “her anxiety—which was, after all, made of smoke and mirrors—was no match for him” (240).
Chapters 14-20 Analysis
This section continues to explore the best means of building lasting relationships with other people, and as Nina’s rocky interactions with Lydia prove, the process of dealing with new Family Bonds and Inheritance can be a challenging road. However, in accordance with the novel’s lighter approach to life in general, Lydia’s suspicion of Nina’s claims is mitigated by the explicit reassurance of both Archie and Peter, who reach out to encourage Nina and bring her closer to the family. Both men also provide Nina with valuable insights into the complexities of family dynamics, which she has only observed from the outside. Similarly, Becky’s discussion with Nina causes her to contemplate the qualities that define a good father, and she wrestles with the question of how much importance she should place on genetics. In one respect, her biological connection to William gives her grounds to form new bonds with an entirely new set of family members, many of whom she enjoys spending time with. She also appreciates having attributes in common with people like her brother Archie, who resembles her physically and also shares her tendency to experience anxiety. On the other hand, she acknowledges that parenting requires being present and supportive, and neither biological parent has filled this role for her. Thus, while the majority of Nina’s interactions with her newfound family are positive, she must also reconcile several internal difficulties with her new situation before she can fully embrace the Reynolds family as a vital part of her widening social circle.
Nina’s anxiety and resulting desire for solitude continue to conflict with her desire to spend time with people she appreciates, and this dynamic reflects her ongoing struggle to focus on Embracing Change and Broadening Social Connections, especially when she uses her routine, scheduled activities as an excuse to resist her inner urge to become closer to Tom. While Peter and Archie—as well as Polly—suggest that Nina’s life will be more fulfilling if she finds a boyfriend, Nina views this possibility as a potential source of confusion or pain that she would do better to avoid. Within this context, both Lili and her newly married sister, Rachel, serve as foils to Nina, for far from rejecting the possibility of developing new relationships, they wholeheartedly embrace their connections to their respective partners, and their experiences provide successful examples of dating that encourage Nina to branch out a bit herself. This trend is further solidified when the serendipitous appearance of Tom at the wedding allows Nina to pursue her physical attraction for him. Significantly, the more time that Nina spends with Tom, the less anxious she feels in his company. This dynamic suggests that Nina is growing as a person and is learning how to form a viable romantic relationship even as she gains success in forming new familial attachments as well.
