49 pages • 1 hour read
Gareth BrownThe Book of Doors
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Parts 6-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 6: “A Plan in Five Parts” - Part 7: “Beginnings and Endings”
Part 6, Chapter 44 Summary: “The Woman, After the Auction”
The Woman goes home, processing her brief meeting with Drummond. She feels a renewal of energy knowing that she will spend the next few years hunting him. When she arrives at her house, she finds two men hanging out outside, likely thinking the house was abandoned. She goes inside, leaving the door open so they’ll follow her. She leads them into the basement and uses the Book of Matter to torture the men. One sinks into the cement floor, while the other is liquified. Once they’re both dead, she adds the Book of Matter to her collection.
Part 6, Chapter 45 Summary: “Reality, Again”
Cassie re-emerges into reality and remembers Izzy’s death. She walks through the abandoned hotel and sees that Izzy’s blood has disappeared, while the rest of the room remains untouched. She considers the place she traveled to, which she believes she survived because of the Book of Safety. With new knowledge of the books’ origins, Cassie vows to stop the Woman from using them. She returns to her apartment and visits Izzy’s bedroom, where it appears some things have been taken. Cassie turns on her phone and finds a voicemail from Izzy, along with many photos of doors.
Part 6, Chapter 46 Summary: “Beach Fires at Night”
Lund and Izzy build a fire on a beach on the west coast of the country. Since the Woman’s attack, they’ve been moving around to stay safe. Lund is happy traveling with Izzy, reflecting on how comfortable he feels with her. Suddenly, they see Cassie approaching them. Cassie thanks Lund for caring for Izzy, and the two women catch up. Izzy thinks she was protected by the Book of Illusion, which projected an image of her death to keep her safe. Cassie tells them of her years in the past, and about her time in the nothingness. Izzy and Lund agree to help Cassie face the Woman. Later, Lund tells Cassie that they buried the Book of Illusion far from any doors.
Part 6, Chapter 47 Summary: “The Shadow in the Sand”
Izzy and Lund leave Cassie alone, and Drummond emerges from the shadows. He admits he’s been following Izzy and Lund on their travels, hoping to meet Cassie when she comes looking for them. They discuss what to do about the Woman and the hope that the Fox Library can come out of the shadows into a safer world. When the group reconvenes, Izzy is wary of Drummond and angry about his attempt to take her memories. They discuss the best way to approach the Woman. Cassie suggests using the Book of Illusion to lure the Woman to the library. Lund suggests that Azaki would be capable of such a thing, except that he was killed. However, the group considers that his death may have been an illusion as well. That night, Cassie and Izzy part ways. Cassie decides to visit her grandfather in the past.
Part 6, Chapter 48 Summary: “Home (2013)”
Cassie visits her childhood home to see her grandfather. They sit together in the garden, and Cassie tells him she’s preparing to do something difficult. Although he is encouraging, he also becomes angry at the injustices of life. He tells her to face her challenges and move forward. Cassie recounts her magical story.
Part 6, Chapter 49 Summary: “A Plan in Five Parts”
Drummond considers the task ahead. He and Cassie discuss their upcoming plan. Soon, the four friends go for breakfast and iron out the details of their plan to defeat the Woman. Cassie is reluctant to murder her, but Drummond and Lund argue that it’s the only way to ensure their safety. Cassie and Izzy agree.
Part 6, Chapter 50 Summary: “The Plan, Part One — Azaki’s Story”
Several months earlier, Azaki is drinking alone and is approached by Cassie and Lund from the future. They warn him of his upcoming death and ask for his help with their plan. Later, Azaki, Lund, and Izzy are attacked by Barbary, and Azaki uses the Book of Illusion to fake his death. He gets up after everyone has left and goes to the place where Lund and Izzy have hidden the book. Following Lund’s instructions, he digs up the book in the desert and is relieved to be reunited with it. As he prepares to meet the others, he briefly considers running away, but he ultimately travels to join them in battle.
Part 6, Chapter 51 Summary: “The Plan, Part Two — The Bookseller”
Cassie goes to meet the Bookseller. Both are tense because of the debacle of the auction. The Bookseller is angry that Cassie didn’t uphold her end of the deal and deliver her books, while Cassie is angry that the Bookseller ran away from the fight. Cassie explains that she’s planning to stop the Woman and asks the Bookseller to hold another auction to get her attention. They’ll be using the Fox Library to lure her. They agree to hold another auction in the hotel.
Part 6, Chapter 52 Summary: “The Plan, Part Five (1)”
In the hotel ballroom, Cassie waits. She asks Izzy to take the Book of Safety so the Woman can’t steal it, but Izzy deduces that Cassie is just trying to protect her. Invisible because of the Book of Illusion, Drummond, Azaki, and Lund lie in wait. The Woman arrives in a cloud of mist. Cassie rages at her before admitting that she feels sympathy for the Woman’s loneliness.
Part 6, Chapter 53 Summary: “The Plan, Part Three — Drummond and Cassie in the Shadows”
After the Woman leaves the first auction, Cassie and Drummond follow her in secret using the Book of Shadows. Drummond warns Cassie not to let go of his hand so as not to be seen. They pass through the shadow world and hide in the back of the Woman’s car, then follow her into her house along with the two men. Cassie is horrified at their deaths and at her powerlessness to help them. For a moment, it seems as if the Woman can see them, but she dismisses her concern. They watch as she puts her books away in the safe and goes upstairs.
Part 6, Chapter 54 Summary: “The Plan, Part Four — Azaki and the Books”
While chatting, Azaki comments on Lund’s reticence. Lund seemingly believes that others will think he’s stupid, but Azaki believes truly stupid people are loud and outspoken. Azaki is enjoying getting to know his new friends, feeling at home in their presence. Cassie and Drummond arrive after their traumatizing adventure. Cassie uses the Book of Doors to access the Woman’s safe. They take her books and leave illusionary ones in their place, leaving the Book of Mists so the Woman doesn’t get suspicious.
Part 6, Chapter 55 Summary: “The Plan, Part Five (2)”
In the present, Cassie confronts the Woman. The Woman admits that she knew her books were fakes, putting her one step ahead of Cassie. She holds a gun on Cassie, demanding to know who she is and what she’s been planning. Cassie’s friends appear out of their invisible illusion, and the three men attack the Woman. Lund is shot, but Drummond evades the bullets using the Book of Luck. He and Azaki overpower her. Cassie prepares to use the Book of Doors to send the Woman to the nothingness where the books were created. Suddenly, Azaki and Drummond are overcome with agony as the Woman reveals that she’s taken apart the Book of Despair and turned it into a garment that she can wear. She turns its power on Cassie, filling her with despair.
Part 6, Chapter 56 Summary: “Despair”
Cassie descends into hopelessness, remembering the grandfather she lost and imagining a future in which the Woman rules over them all. Cassie blames herself for dooming the world by creating the books. The Woman advances on Cassie, and Cassie feels a surge of anger that shakes her out of her despair.
Part 6, Chapter 57 Summary: “Fire”
Izzy hasn’t been hit with the Book of Despair, and she goes to Lund, who is badly hurt. The others are collapsing around her. As the Woman attempts to infect Izzy, Izzy realizes the Book of Safety is making her invulnerable. She discerns that the magic is coming from the Woman’s skirt, which is made from the pages of the book. Izzy uses a lighter to set the Woman’s skirt on fire, which wakes up her friends. Cassie and Drummond push the Woman through the Bookseller’s secret door, watching her disappear into nothingness.
Part 6, Chapter 58 Summary: “The Last Act of Hugo Barbary (2002)”
Twenty years in the past, Hugo Barbary struggles with the inner turmoil of having his pain let loose. It has become a near-conscious force trying to retain control of his body, while he resists its influence. He has with him the Book of Health, which helps push the pain away until it breaks free from his body, leaving Barbary in peace. He decides to change his name and begin a new life, as the Book of Health will extend his years. However, the pain that he ejected from himself remains conscious and targets a young girl who will later grow up to be the Woman. It infects her, turning her hard and volatile. It takes over her body, vowing to find the other books.
Part 7, Chapter 59 Summary: “The Fox Library”
Cassie, Drummond, Izzy, Lund, and Azaki arrive at the Fox Library. Lund is carrying the Book of Safety to halt the impact of his wound. The friends explore the house while Drummond brings them tea and biscuits. As they consider what to do next, Drummond suggests they band together to help preserve and protect the dangerous books that still exist in the world. He and Cassie go to the book room and find the Book of Health to repair Lund. He also shows her the duplicate of the Book of Doors. They celebrate their victory and the fact that the books no longer need to be destroyed. Cassie realizes she needs to bring the duplicate book to Mr. Webber so that he can gift it to her.
Part 7, Chapter 60 Summary: “The Joy at the End”
Cassie goes to visit her grandfather one last time, bringing with her the Book of Joy. She sees him moments before his death, while her past self is asleep. She always felt guilty that her grandfather was alone when he died, and so she wants to give him a final goodbye. She offers him the Book of Joy to hold in his final moments. Once he’s gone, Cassie prepares to make one final stop.
Part 7, Chapter 61 Summary: “The Quiet Death of Mr. Webber (3)”
In Kellner Books, Cassie waits until her younger self leaves Mr. Webber’s side, then goes to him with the Book of Doors. He accepts it and inscribes it with his message just before his heart attack. Cassie holds him as he dies.
Parts 6-7 Analysis
The final section opens with the aftermath of the Woman’s auction massacre. The author makes the narrative choice to show the Woman’s point of view, creating an antithetical foil to Cassie’s act of creation. Although neither the point-of-view character nor the reader are aware, Cassie’s plan of action is already taking place within the scene. Moving forward, the Cassie of the present discovers the world she left behind and learns that the loss that catapulted her into the nothingness was only an illusion. Her reunion with Izzy is a celebration of female friendship yet a subtle source of tension for the growing connection between Izzy and Lund. When Cassie and Izzy go their separate ways for the night, Cassie recognizes that her relationship with her best friend has been forever changed. In this way, a part of Izzy becomes lost to her after all, and yet it is not the loss of violence and death—it’s the simple and inevitable loss of growing up.
The rest of Part 6 focuses on the implementation of “The Plan,” delivered in a somewhat nonlinear fashion that jumps forward and backward in time. The lack of certainty in any scene creates narrative tension and suspense, as anything assumed as true throughout the book could be revealed as false or different than expected. This reintroduces Azaki, a character presumed dead since early in the novel and whose death brought Lund and Izzy together. This section ties together several of the novel’s earlier scenes, taking disparate parts and weaving them into a cohesive mosaic narrative. At the novel’s climax, the heroes confront the antagonist in a final battle, which leaves most of the friends incapacitated. Izzy, however, is protected from the Woman’s magic by the Book of Safety and comes to her friends’ aid. Her act of setting the Woman on fire turns the tide of the battle and allows the heroes to emerge victorious. This marks a shift in her character wherein, after being acted upon by both positive and negative characters throughout the story, she takes an active role in what is occurring.
The final scenes of the novel form a denouement that’s broken into four parts, closing each of the story’s remaining threads. Hugo Barbary is given a new chance at life, inadvertently infecting the Woman with his evil in the process. This raises questions about the nature of harm inflicted on others, as Barbary is allowed a redemption that the Woman is not, even if she wasn’t responsible for her evil nature. Pain and suffering is portrayed as a cyclical force that only encourages more harm toward others; the only way to eradicate the Woman’s threat without sinking to her level and killing her is to lock her away in a different dimension. These actions are shown as ultimately necessary, though, as there was no apparent way to rehabilitate the Woman like Barbary. The central characters thus reconvene at the newly freed Fox Library to brave new adventures after the Woman’s defeat, determined to not let her situation or the general misuse of the books happen again. Finally, Cassie visits her two paternal guides one last time to say goodbye before the next stage of her journey. The very last scene of the novel shows Cassie once again witnessing Mr. Webber’s death, giving the story a “bookend” effect (or, since this scene is shown three times, a “tent pole” effect). In his final moments, Cassie honors their journey together and the positive impact he has had on her life.
