43 pages • 1 hour read
Blake CrouchRecursion
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.
EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Epilogue
Chapter Summary: “BARRY - November 4, 2018”
Barry is having lunch with Julia on what would have been Meghan’s 26th birthday. He reflects on all that hasn’t happened. He can sense that this is the original timeline. He and Julia speculate about what Meghan would be doing now.
Barry tells Julia that he used to be angry with her, feeling that Meghan's death caused their divorce, but now he accepts they were only meant to be together for a period of time. He apologizes for holding onto his anger, and he says that if he could, he wouldn't change a thing.
Chapter Summary: “BARRY - November 5, 2018”
Barry drives to Slade’s loft in San Francisco and knocks on the door. Slade answers, and Barry tells him he’s there to investigate a murder that hasn’t happened yet. He tells Slade that his plan to kill Helena works, but it also causes global havoc.
Slade's phone buzzes, displaying a text from Helena agreeing to meet in a few hours. Barry turns to leave and hears a click. Slade is trying to shoot him. Barry says that he broke in earlier and loaded Slade’s gun with empty casings, wanting to see if Slade was capable of murder. Barry pulls out his Glock.
Later, Barry goes to the bar where he knows Helena is waiting. He sits down next to her, feeling nervous, excited, and scared. He considers what he should say to her. The book ends as Barry opens his mouth to speak.
Epilogue Analysis
Like Book Five, the Epilogue is entirely from Barry’s perspective. He returns to the same lunch with Julia that he experienced in Book One, celebrating what would have been Meghan’s 26th birthday. In addition to giving the narrative a sense of completion, this scene also gives Barry a chance for emotional closure. In Book One, Barry wished that he felt comfortable voicing his feelings to Julia, but he held himself back. Finally, in the Epilogue, he can speak honestly with Julia and tell her that he no longer feels anger toward her. In keeping with Barry’s acceptance of death in Book Five, he has now accepted that his relationship with Julia was only ever meant to last as long as it did. Having lived through timelines in which Meghan survived but Barry and Julia still drifted apart, and through other timelines in which Barry fell in love with Helena and never married Julia at all, Barry has a new understanding that his separation from Julia was inevitable, and it wasn’t a bad thing. He is also able to appreciate their marriage for what it was and to feel gratitude that they were together long enough to raise a daughter who they both loved. This realization allows Barry to reach out to Julia more honestly, the implication being that their relationship will improve.
After speaking to Julia, Barry goes to meet Helena at the bar where she is waiting for Slade. By doing so, Barry is making good on his promise to Helena that he wants to be with her for as many lifetimes as they both have. Barry finds Helena looking very different than the version of her that he knows, underscoring how much time travel changed Helena’s life. The novel ends as Barry opens his mouth to speak to her, without revealing what he is about to say. This moment suggests that after everything Helena and Barry have experienced together, their story is about to begin one more time. From death there is rebirth.
The Epilogue is divided into two chapters, representing two sequential days in a single timeline. This signals that time is finally repaired, and it will no longer be disrupted by the convergence of alternate timelines.
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By Blake Crouch
